Carousel, Carousel
by Sniper Hawkeye
Summary: One thousand years ago, a war raged and the gods scorched the earth of life. The survivors built the City a place ruled by six Houses who trace themselves back to the Builders. However, ours is a story of a common girl. SasuSaku. Will be edited further.
1. Prologue

A/N: Hey! After a long absence, I am BACK, but this time with a NARUTO story! Haha! Sorry. This story is brought to you by the wonders of the Godfather, Benny Goodman,sci-fi, the Schindler's List, Munich, Narnia and Pirates of the Carribean soundtracks and the letter Y! Have fun! 

**Prologue**

My mother used to tell me a story. It was a long story, a sad story. It had swordplay, and it would make me cringe and go "eww" when I was a kid at the romantic scenes, but it was a story I never tired of, no matter how old I got. My mother would tell it to me when I was sick, when I had a nightmare, or just plain when I asked. And I used to ask whenever I could. It would be a reward for doing my chores, and it was always a suitable bribe. Perhaps it's because I always seemed to feel like I was a part of it, like I was there with the heroine. Or perhaps it was that her eyes always seemed to be far away when she told me, as if it had actually happened. It was strange.

But now, I sit on a stool beside my mother's bed, holding her hand as she looks at me through half-lidded eyes, the cataracts clouding her once-sharp, sparkling, mischievous green pair. Her skin was like dried parchment that had been scraped of writing once too many times, the blue veins visible beneath the surface. She seemed so frail. Not like the mother I once knew; so strong and unrelenting in whatever she set her mind to. Her hair had thinned out, becoming a pure, pure white that held merely a ghost of the color it had once been. Her wheezing sent shivers through me every time she breathed, for I knew that she didn't have much time left.

Slowly, she raised her hand and placed it on my arm. I shivered once again, as it was so cold, weighing almost nothing. I placed my other hand on top of hers, faking a smile for her. i wouldn't want her to worry.

"Mama?" I asked softly, "What is it? Can I get something for you? Mama?"

She shook her head, smiling to herself, cracking her too-dry lips in the process. Taking a long, wheezing breath, she spoke, in a voice so soft it was hard to hear.

"Once...the world was not so peaceful as it is... right now."

She was starting the story. I shook my head, squeezing her hand lightly, "Shhh. Don't waste your energy."

She arched one thin eyebrow and continued despite my protest, "The sky... was not so bright... and the trees... not so green."

She was going to start and finish it even without my consent. But her eyes seemed to cloud over - not from the cataracts, but as if she were no longer there - as if she were more telling herself than me. I knew that this time, the story would be different. And I was nervous as to what she would say, having hidden it for so long...


	2. Tessen

A/N: Yeah, yeah. I'm uploading two chapters in one go. Not than anyone who is reading will mind. Ah well. I have chapter 2 written, too, but I'm not posting that quite yet. Heheheheheheh. Anyshways. I forgot the disclaimer on the last page, so I'll do that now. Right. And please excuse me if there are any grammar mistakes. I try not to, but some still slip through.

Disclaimer: I, under the penname Sniper Hawkeye, do not own any of the Naruto Characters and/or related indica, all of which are sole property of Masashi Kishimoto and his affilliates. Thank you.

**1 - Tessen**

"Mama, I can comb my hair myself! I'm old enough!" a little girl protested as her mother brushed her hair distractedly. She couldn't have been a maid of more than ten, dirt smudging her face and green eyes glaring at anything that moved, her armed crossed in a pout. Unnatural-looking pink hair cascaded from her head, ending just below her chin. It seemed unnatural, but it had always been that way, for as long as she could remember. Her mama had told her that when she was little, her hair had been white, but it had changed color as she had aged. Her mum said that that was why she had named her "Sakura".

"For your pretty pink hair. Like flowers _my _mother told me stories about."

They lived in a small, one-room apartment in the Twilight Level, living from one paycheck to the next and never knowing where their next meal would come from, but nonetheless, they were happy. So, so happy. The Twilight Level wasn't exactly a hospitable place. Legend said that a thousand years ago, there was a great war, in which the gods themselves grew angry and scorched the earth, wiping it of life and greenery. The legends then said that the survivors then built the City - a city whose name no one remembers and the builders everyone had forgotten. It had three levels, nicknamed Day Level, Twilight Level, and Night Level. The Day Level, Sakura had never seen, but was told stories about from her mother, who had been there once. Why, she had never told her. She said that it was a gleaming white, filled with people dressed in clothing that could sell for more money than they spent on food for a year.

"They all looked so glamorous, so beautiful. Like they were angels who lived among the clouds, too high up and too glorious to be touched by common people like us."

In a way, they did live amongst the clouds. For the City was built with the Night Level beneath the ground, never seeing the light of day, the Twilight level was situated on the ground, with the feel of dirt underfoot and the sunlight streaming through the area between the walls and the bottom of the Day Level, giving it a feel of eternal twilight, hence it's name. The Day level was a level above the Twilight, making a ceiling of sorts hundreds of feet in the air. It was among the clouds, surrounded by pure white mist. Mama said that she saw over the edge of the Day Level when she was there, and the clouds parted as if by magic.

"I'll never forget what I saw," she said, "Green, green grass as far as you can imagine. Like we've heard in stories, only better. And there were big things that I think are called trees! They had big brown arms and green, green leaves sprouting from them. It was so pretty, but as soon as the gods had gifted me with that sight, they took it away again, shrouding the sight in mist again."

Each level was "ruled" by Houses which made a political system of sorts. The six great Houses were the House of Uchiha, the House of Hyuuga, the House of Sabaku, the House of Nara, a group called Akatsuki and a group led by a man named Orochimaru. Two for each level. For the most part, one hears stories about the 'reign' of each House. Orochimaru and Akatsuki's monopoly on the immense Night Level was unparalleled. In fact, the Night was so immense that its population would parallel that of Twilight and Day combined. And even then, it was at an advantage. Akatsuki and Orochimaru held no rules, no punishments as long as you obeyed them unconditionally and without question. But of this, Mama and Sakura never spoke. The girl was too young for such things.

"Mama!" she protested again, but this time quickly shushed by her mother.

"Hush. If I don't comb it, you certainly won't, no matter how much you say you will," she argued, "And you really need to stop rolling around in the dirt, Sakura. No one will ever choose you for their entertainer if you look like you rolled out of a pig pen."

Sakura scowled, still pouting, "Who said I even _wanted_ to be an entertainer," she grumbled. But the grumble did not go unheard.

"I did," her mother growled, "Because you will live a far better life than I ever did. Even if you were chosen by one of the Night Level Houses, you would live like a queen."

Hearing the faint sorrow in her mother's voice, Sakura let her arms fall into her lap and chewed on her lower lip guiltily. Her mama only wanted what was best for her and - even though she tried to hide it from her daughter - went so far as to take money from herself to save for proper entertainers' clothing when this young rosette beauty was old enough to take part in the competition. In the world Sakura and her mother lived in was not exactly hospitable, as mentioned before. The women had three choices, become housewives, workers or entertainers. Most girls were raised to be entertainers, however, there was an annual "competition" of sorts where the six families would choose a girl each from the masses. Girls from every level of the city competed for the House Heads' attention, wishing to become entertainer for the Houses - a position which promised great prominence and wealth. A life that most girls could only dream of. The trick, was that of the hundreds that participated, only six would become entertainers. And girls could only compete once. Some from families too proud to bear a child who lost would commit ritual suicide in the middle of the competition room. Others would go back to their homes and pursue other means of living, their hopes crushed. The men, however, could work, become a guard for their respective House or be lazy drunkards who wasted their life and livelihood away on a barstool. Quite a few chose the third of the three options.

"Now, Sakura, try not to cover your hair in dirt anymore, or we'll have to cut it. You KNOW that that would weaken your chances later in life. Entertainers are supposed-"

"To have long hair, I know. Something about the men liking long hair."

Her mother laughed silently to herself. Such an intelligent girl. She remembered almost anything that was thrown at her. Maybe the Houses would like that. Placing the brush on the ground beside her daughter, she smiled, "There. The torture is over, you little heathen. Now go wash your face and practice your dance, okay?"

Sakura crouched in front of the water, rubbing her face, a blonde girl skipped over and collapsed in the dirt beside her, smiling broadly.

"Forehead!" she chirped.

"Ino-Pig!" Sakura chirped back with a slightly sarcastic tone. They scowled at each other for a bit before both grinning. The pink girl was accustomed to her best friend's constant taunting of her slightly large forehead, the part of her body she was most ashamed of. As Sakura rubbed her face, her and the Ino girl chattered to each other, proving the young blonde to be quite the talkative one, and confident in her endeavors.

"Sakura, when we make entertainers, which House do you want to choose you?" Ino grinned mischievously. Sakura shrugged.

"I never really thought about it, I suppose. I'd settle with anyone at this point."

The blonde poked her best friend, "Even O-ro-chi-ma-ru," emphasizing each syllable with a poke.

"Eww. No. He's gross," the girl spat, "And I can't tell if he's a boy or a girl." Ino just laughed.

"So you DO care!"

"Enough to know that I DON'T want _him_. But what about you, Ino? You obviously have a House in mind."

Ino got a dreamy look on her face, "Yeah..." she said softly, trailing off. Sakura had to poke her to get her back on track.

"Well? Who?"

The girl bit her lip and blushed softly, "Well..."

"Spill!"

"I saw a picture of the boy who is our age from one of the Houses and he's _so cute!_" Sakura's friend nearly squealed.

"Come on!"

"Uchiha Sasuke..."

Sakura had to try hard not to laugh at that comment. She didn't want to receive a smack upside the head for what she was thinking. Ino had to be crazy. Of all the Houses, the Uchihas were the pickiest about their entertainers, matched only by the pickyness of the House of Nara. She could only shake her head and take a deep breath.

"Well, good luck with that one, Ino. You know how picky they are. Besides, they like instrumentalists, not singers. Or so I've heard," the girl shrugged again. Ino huffed and crossed her arms defensively.

"Well, I'm just going to have to prove them that singers are _better_ than instrumentalists by surpassing them all!" she cackled confidently. Sakura smiled at her friend, still shaking her head at the confidence that exuded from all aspects of the Great Ino. Sighing and getting back to her feet, the pink girl said her goodbyes to her friend and rushed back to the house to start practicing.

Her mama had brought out two heinously expensive-looking silver-plated fans which she had kept from something-or-other years and years ago. It had been her mothers' - she said. The silver outer plates were engraved with swirling flower designs inlaid with a pink mineral neither Sakura nor her mother could name. It seemed almost to change color in the light; from pink to white and sometimes a sliver of green wrapped around like tall grass. It gave the flowers seem as if they were really there, instead of merely worked into the silver. The inner spokes of the fan were steel, polished until they looked like the silver on the outside. Instead of cloth spread across the spokes of the fan, it was gold plating edged in steel and decorated with curving Sakura trees. The branches bore pink flowers of the same mineral that decorated the flowers in the silver. The unique thing about the fans were, however, the fact that the steel edging of the gold plate was razor sharp - lethal. Tessen, her mother had called them.

The young girl sat on the dirt, barefoot, picking up one tessen gingerly in her newly-cleaned hands, tossing it from palm to palm and accustoming herself to its weight. She had started practicing with the tessen when she was six, quickly mastering her own unique style of using it. Picking up the latter of the two fans, the girl checked her position before snapping them both open with one flick of her wrists. She still had quite a ways to go, however before she was worthy of competing. The rosette-haired girl still tripped during some of her dance steps, falling flat on her face. The only reason she hadn't died yet from the edge of the fans was for the fact that while she was practicing, she coated the sharp edge with wax. It protected her from what would normally have been nearly fatal slices.

"Alright," her mother sighed, running a hand through her brown tresses, "Let's start from the beginning, shall we?" Sakura nodded and her mother placed an ancient-looking violin to her shoulder, slowly beginning to play the song that her daughter danced to. It was slow and it was sad, but slowly picked up in speed, seeming to flutter around like the wind. As the song picked up, as did Sakura's dance, humming the tune to herself as she twirled, snapping the fans this way and that, tossing them into the air and catching them, giving her mother a confident smile. She dipped and tossed and spun in a dance that focused on the fans. It was perfect... and then, the unthinkable happened. She tripped, falling flat onto her face once again. She gritted her teeth in pain as the fan cut a long slice down her chest as it fell. The pink-haired girl curled into herself as if the motion would ease her pain. Her mother quickly set the violin by her side, rushing to her daughter.

"You poor fool," her mother chided gently, surveying the damage done to her daughter, "You wavered your attention from the tessen to me. Never do that, remember? They demand attention like small children."

Sakura nodded numbly as her mother left to find the bandaged that she used whenever the girl cut herself. They were stained in places where her mother had washed out the blood. The woman skillfully wrapped the bandages around her weeping daughter's chest, careful not to aggravate the cut skin.

"At least it's a clean cut. It should heal without a scar. Only the Gods know what would happen if it scarred. Now that would lower your chances."

Sakura spun around to face the woman, who had been tying the bandages on her back. Tears were still running down her cheeks, but her eyes were fierce and angry, "Is that all you care about?" she cried bitterly, "My chances of being chosen for entertainer of a House?"

Her mother searched the smaller face with her eyes before turning an angry shade of red, "I'm just trying to make sure you live better than most girls your age."

"All I ever hear is 'entertainer' this and 'lower your chances' that. I hate it! Besides, no one would pick me anyways! I'm too _weird_!"

"Sakura!"

"It's true!" she cried, pinning a pink tress between her thumb and forefinger and brandishing it before her mother, "Who in the world has _pink hair_? I'm a freak!"

Her mother's eyes saddened at this, "Sakura, you're beautiful," she said softly.

"No I'm not! I'm an ugly girl with weird hair and a big forehead!"

"Houses like girls that look unique."

"There you go again!" the girl yelled, throwing her arms up as more tears coursed down her cheeks. She winced slightly from the pain as the skin pulled around her cut, "Entertainers again! For all I care, this ugly, freakish girl will go to the Night level and become a boiler woman. Then I'll be happy because I won't have to worry about being _perfect_! I can just rot in my ugliness!"

She stood and glowered bitterly down at her mother for a moment before stalking off to her mat on the floor, crawling underneath the sheets and covering her head, sobbing from the pain and the bitterness. Her mother hung her head, sighing. She shouldn't have pressed the girl so much. Sakura was doing so well, even though the woman didn't seem to act as if it were so. She stood slowly and collected the beautiful tessen which lay unattended and forgotten on the dirt ground, folding them both into closed positions and resting them in her palms. She ran a finger along the pink mineral flowers, lovingly tracing where pink met silver. She smiled softly to herself as she stared down at it. Hearing the tune play softly in her head, the woman mentally mapped out her footing, following it with a dancer's grace as she snapped the fans open, twirling them and tossing them just as her daughter had done minutes before.

Sakura lay on the floor with her eyes buried in her arms, quilt over her pink-tressed head. She hated it – only ever hearing 'entertainer' from her mother's lips – always being criticized. She hated it – her pink tresses and large forehead – always being made fun of for said pink tresses and forehead. It wasn't fair. She was a small girl, not exceptionally pretty and not exceptionally talented, the complete opposite of her best friend. She was so jealous of Ino. That girl was always getting the compliments, she could get away with anything, and she could make friends with nearly every one. Unlike timid, ugly, sore-thumb-ish Sakura. Sniffing and wiping her eyes, she figured she should go an apologize. She was still angry, - angrier than she had been in a while – but she couldn't stay angry at her mother. She was all the girl had. She figured she should go and apologize. She'd been a bit harsh. Her mother _was_ just looking out for her best interests. She would still be angry and bitter, yes, but not at her mother. Never at her mother.

Sitting up from the floor, the quilt falling around her shoulders, she wiped her eyes with the back of her arm, sniffing again. Taking a deep breath, she stood and started walking back to the dirt area outside.

"Mama," she called, her voice still choked from tears, "I- I'm sorry. I shouldn't… have… " she stopped as she got to the doorway, watching in awe. Her mother had her eyes closed, her mouth curled in a small smile as she spun around, twirling the tessen like Sakura had tried to do earlier. Her mother didn't make a mistake, though.

"Mama!" the girl whispered in awe. The woman opened her eyes and, seeing her daughter, caught the fans she had tossed in the air, snapped them shut and smiled.

"Sorry," she said lightly, "I had a moment of weakness. I just had to."

Sakura shook her head wildly, anger gone, a grin spread across her face, "No! Mama, that was amazing! You never told me you could dance with tessen!" then, a thought hit her, "Mama, were you an entertainer?"

The woman sighed, smiling, "I guess I have some explaining to do."

Sakura nodded.

"You really do."

"As you know, when a girl who wishes to compete turns 19, she registers for the competition and is given a pass for the Lift to the Day Level. So, like a lot of girls my age, I wanted to show off my skills to the Houses and maybe get a job as an entertainer. I could dance with the tessen that _my _mother had given to me before she died. The tessen that you dance with now, might I add. But that's beside the point.

"I got my pass and traveled up the lift to the Day level with hundreds of other girls looking to do the same that I did. The Day level was glorious, like I've told you. It was like the House of the Gods. That's where my stories come from. We were led to an immense building in the very centre of the Level – a building covered in green marble. It was a splash of color in amongst the bright, gleaming white buildings surrounding it. When we entered, it was amazing. The inside was all white marble tile and limestone pillars and ivory ornaments. Even the spaces between the tiles were gold instead of grout. Girls wearing colors from all ends of the rainbow lined the walls, some holding instruments, some holding dancing ribbons, others holding nothing at all – but all dressed their finest. At the very end was a great, stone table with six people sitting in chair behind it. The six House Heads. Uchiha Fugaku, Hyuuga Hiashi, Nara Shikaku, Sabaku Yashamaru, the Head of Akatsuki and finally Orochimaru. They sat there in their prestige and glory.

"One by one, we all displayed our talent before them and then, there were only six of us left, myself included. I was chosen by the House of Sabaku to entertain and accompany them during gala events and the like. I served for eleven years, more happy than I had ever been in my life. I was treated well, given a room in their home, treated like one of the family. At the end of the eleven year term, I was given the choice of going back to my home here, or staying there as a concubine to the Head, as I was one of his favorites. I graciously took up the offer of coming home, for I had fallen in love with one of the guards. They granted my request only after much argument, a fact that I find quite flattering.

"I never told anyone. Not even your father, rest his soul. Such a pity he died when you were so young. You would have loved him. You get his stubbornness from him, you know," she cleared her throat of the tears that had started to well up, "The rest was – as you say – history. But deep down, I guess I'll always be 'Lady Haruno, entertainer of the House of Sabaku'."

Sakura just stared, mouth slightly open. "Mama," she started, leaving a long pause between words, "You're _amazing_!" She threw herself at her mother, wrapping her arms around the woman's waist. Her mother blinked for a moment before hugging her daughter back. "I'm sorry I yelled. I was frustrated."

"I know." her mother crooned, running her fingers through her daughter's rosette tresses, "I know. It's hard. I shouldn't be so pushy."

"No, you shouldn't."

Her mother laughed, smiling down at her daughter with her green eyes, "You still need to practice."

Sakura pulled away and nodded her head wildly, her eyes alight and a smile on her face, "I'll work really hard! I promise! I want to be just like you!"

Her mother smiled to herself.

_She'll do just fine. I know she will._


	3. I Want the World to See Me

**A/N: Thanks to those of you who reviewed. I need at LEAST one review per chapter, otherwise I see no point in continuing. Thus, a special thanks to the FIVE of you who reviewed me. I really appreciate it.**

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**I really appreciate you having taken the time to review. Thanks guys and enjoy the story. Don't forget to REVIEW.**

**2 – I Want the World to See Me**

"Haruno Sakura?" a man read the name off a sheet, his tone bored.

"Here!" She jumped up and down, waving her arm so the man could see her above the crowd. The girl was no longer the timid young girl she had been. Nine years had passed since she had promised to be like her mother. The Haruno girl was much older now, much more dedicated to what she was doing. Her pink hair reached down beneath her shoulder blades now, having grown agonizingly slowly in the time that had passed. Her mother was so proud of her – she could now dance with the tessen without tripping or dropping the fans.

Pushing through the crowds of impatient, long-haired girls, she made her way to the desk and happily accepted the Lift pass from the man sitting boredly there. Sighing and looking back down on the list, he called another name, but Sakura gave it no mind, just rushing back to the tiny home and her mother.

"Mama!" she cried, barreling through the door, "I got it! I have a pass! I'm going!"

Her mother's figure snapped up from her seat on a chair, a grin plastered across her face as her daughter waved the pass around as if it were a winning lottery ticket. She squeaked in delight like a teenager, stretching out her hand and plucking it from her daughters. She squinted down at the paper, reading the message aloud.

"Day Level Lift pass issued to Haruno Sakura whom shall be attending the annual Entertainer Auditions held in Builders' Hall. Valid two trips."

She laughed delightedly as Sakura giggled and jumped around as if she were ten again. Walking over to a floorboard, the woman wrenched it up, causing her daughter to stop jumping and come looking over her shoulder, wondering what in the world her mother was doing. The woman reached her hand down beneath the floor, bringing up a box before resetting the floorboard. Brushing the thick dust off the lid, she coughed slightly as it rested in her throat. Carefully, and with Sakura leaning curiously over her shoulder the entire time, she lifted the lid off and removed a beautiful dress and sash from its depths along with a hair ornaments and some jewelry. Sakura had seen this kind of finery only in the tessen which she used.

The dress was cut into sections, each section strung together by orange thread and bordered in white. The dress itself was a beautiful red thing with a collar of white and a pattern of cherry blossoms and yellow swirls. The sash was black, while pink diamond-shaped decorations covered the backdrop. It was gorgeous. Along with the dress came a pair of stretchy-looking black shorts so it wouldn't be… indecent. Her mother looked at it fondly before handing the items to her daughter. Sakura nearly choked.

"F-for me?" she gasped. Her mother nodded, smiling.

"It's what I wore when I was becoming an entertainer. I hope it brings you as much luck as it brought me," then, standing and unlocking a drawer, she also removed the tessen, placing them atop Sakura's pile, "These are yours as well, now. Use them well. And remember," she said. Sakura looked up at her mother intently. There seemed to be a note of warning in her voice that the girl felt she needed to listen to, "If you are ever in trouble, these will help you. They will keep you safe. They will be your allies. Never forget that. If the situation arises, don't be delicate with them, they were meant for that sort of thing."

The pink girl nodded firmly, but she had a feeling that her mother wasn't telling her something. Something in her mother's voice had told her that she had had to use the fans in exactly the ways she had just described.

"As an entertainer, it is not only your job to keep the Lords occupied, but also to protect them if the time comes – with our life if necessary. That is our duty. It is also the reason why they choose women who seem to have fierceness about them. And that is a trait that you have of no short supply, Sakura."

The girl nodded, understanding.

"Thank you, Mama. Thank you so much."

Tears welled up in the older woman's eyes, "I'm just glad you decided to do this. Promise me you'll do your best."

Sakura smiled softly, "I promise."

"That's my girl."

"Hey! Forehead!" Ino cried to her friend. Her hair had grown out as well, although considerably more than Sakura's. Her blonde tresses reached down her back, swishing behind her like a tail on a cat. She ran towards her pink-headed friend, waving her hand wildly and brandishing a pass near identical to her friend's save for the name Yamanaka Ino. She grinned and grasped Sakura's hands, "We're going to be entertainers!" she squealed.

"I know!" the rosette-haired girl laughed, then poked her friend, "Who knows, maybe you'll get to entertain Sa-su-ke," emphasizing her syllables with a poke, much as Ino herself had done years before.

"And maybe you'll get O-ro-chi-ma-ru," the girl teased. Sakura spit out her tongue in distaste, making her friend laugh, "Come on, Sakura. Admit it, he's hot."

"Definitely," the girl rolled her eyes, "I'd date him." They both laughed giddily, too excited to be serious.

The entire Twilight Level was filled with girls unintentionally mirroring Ino and Sakura in actions and in excitement. However, as many people who said 'We're going to be entertainers' only six would actually make it that far, of the thousands who participated. In the euphoria of the moment, though, as the realization hit them all that they had a chance made it all too easy to forget that they would more that likely be eliminated before getting to the final six; and once eliminated, that was it. No more chances. Besides, most of these girls only thought of the entertainment portion of the job they were striving towards. They had to protect the family member assigned, they could spy for the House if asked, they could fight for the House as an elite soldier if there was ever a war. Most girls didn't think of these portions of the job, and as such, would be eliminated. The House heads knew to look for fierceness, limitless loyalty and stealthiness in addition to the entertainment.

Right now, however, _no one_ was focusing on those other nuances of the job. Right now, everyone was too excited to care. They were only hours away from getting a shot at being accepted into the household of one of the Great Houses. A good percent of girls seemed to be absolutely smitten with either of the two Uchiha brothers. Itachi, the elder and heir to the proverbial "throne" of the family was brilliant – with an IQ that was easily double what even Sakura (who had been described as 'very gifted' by any teachers she had) possessed – and claimed good looks to match. The trademark tall, dark and handsome Uchiha looks improved upon by unique reddish eyes that you could almost _see_ analyzing your every movement. The younger of the two, Sasuke, was just as devilishly handsome, and was also labeled with the title "genius", but was, however, overshadowed by the legacy his elder brother left in his wake. For these two boys, a percent of the female population regularly pined, oblivious to the fact that the objects of their infatuation couldn't hear their cries of undying love, even if they could, most likely choosing to remain in brooding silence rather than answer their piteous calls for attention. However, despite their obvious disdain for the girls, said girls continued to worship the ground they walked on and wished that they should be chosen for entertainer by the House of Uchiha – if only so that they could pine in closer proximity to the objects of their attention. Of the other – smaller – percentage of the female population who didn't grovel at the brothers' feet, some were prone to sarcasm and snarkiness when it came to the subject upon which their colleagues willingly lay themselves out for, while others simply didn't find it within the best interests of their business, nor within the boundries of their personality to care a whim for the boys or the way the other girls would gladly commit a mass case of lemmingism for them at the drop of a hat.

Of these, Sakura was outwardly the lesser of the population, seeming to exude a nonchalant ness at the subject of the boys and speaking as if they were any other of the six Great Houses of the City. Inwardly, however, she pined just as much as Ino for the younger of the two Uchiha brothers. But far be it for her to tell her friend of this, as the Great Yamanaka Ino was not one who took threats to her claims lightly or in a peaceful manner. No, if Yamanaka Ino's claims were endangered or tread upon by another, obscenities so profane it could lead one would wonder whether she grew up in a bar would rain down upon the offender, subsequently followed by bouts of violent behavior if said offender wouldn't back off after the first warning.

All of this aside, everyone participating was so incredibly giddy that the entire Twilight level seemed to be chalk-full of19-year-olds intoxicated with the excitement of competing struggling through the crowds of overbearing parents bragging about their daughters to reach home to pack for the next day – the day from which a number of girls would ultimately never return. Either by their own choice or as a result of another's choice.

Our Sakura had departed from her friend, bidding giddy goodbyes as they both rushed back home to care for their belongings and say longing farewells to loved ones. Her mother had also saved the gift that the House of Sabaku had given her upon her imminent return home; a beautiful woven bag with the Sabaku House seal sewed into one side like a badge. Taking out a knife, the woman carefully cut the stitches securing the badge to the bag, removing the symbol and clutching it to her breast.

"It has a lot of memories, this symbol, but take the bag. The Gods only know, I won't be needing it," she smiled, clutching the badge as if it were life itself. The seal of the House of Sabaku was an hourglass-shaped design of tan and white. Sakura nodded and smiled at her mother, thanking her once again for everything. The woman waved it off absently, "Nonsense. It's my pleasure. It's certainly better than having these old things lay there and never be used."

The pink-headed girl gently placed the dress and all its accompanying items inside the bag, its woven designs standing out amongst the drab, near colorless walls of the room. After securing the bag shut, the girl raised her head, looking around her one-room home. She soaked in every detail - from the dim photograph in the corner of her mother and father standing arm in arm, happy smiles upon their faces to the cracks in the wall to the stains on the floor. She gazed at everything with a sense of finality, as if this was the last time she would see it. If she didn't get chosen, it wouldn't matter, but if she _was_... she wanted to remember what everything looked like. So she would never forget. Without a word, and now with a feeling of sadness mixed with the excitement, Sakura climbed into her bed on the floor and fell into a deep, if fitful sleep.

Her dream was odd that night. She barely ever dreamed, but when she did, they were almost always unpleasant and baffling. This one was no less so. She was standing barefoot in an old park. The moon hung high overhead, a pearl-white globe of light that she had seen only once or twice, but was clear as if she were actually looking at it. It had half of its face hidden from view, casting a feeble light down upon the ground. Sakura was barefoot on the ground, green grass damp and cool with the breath of the night. She stared down in wonder at the blades. They were soft underfoot and refreshing to the touch. Her dreams were hardly ever this real-feeling. A soft tune came to her ears - a tune that felt like it belonged to a music box. Looking over to where the tune came from, there was a machine standing abandoned. Rust climbed up metal poles and paint chipped off and lay like dust on the ground around it. Whatever paint that wasn't chipped off was bleached near pure white by the sun, ghosts of color remaining. Horses on poles spun slowly around the machine's circular base, galloping to a place they would never reach, imprisoned in a circle. Sakura approached it tentatively, stretching out her hand to touch one of the spinning horses, but pulled back when a horse came by that was completely scorched black. Looking past it, she noticed that there were "shadows" along the axle of the machine of the horses and poles, like a great heat had darkened everything around them. Looking around, she saw – noticing for the first time – that some of the poles were warped out of shape and twisted. For some reason, she found this revolving machine - once an object of amusement for children long dead - frightening and sad.

Leaving the machine and its music-box tune behind, she went farther into the park, each stall and ride just as rusted, just as warped and blackened as the machine with the horses. She yelped when she stepped on something cold, hard and crunchy. Looking down, she fell back onto the ground and shuffled away, whimpering. She had stepped on a skull, wiped clean of flesh through the years. Standing again and hugging her arms around her, she shivered in the silence - a silence penetrated only by the eerie music-box tune playing and playing again. Bones lay everywhere. It was like a graveyard. Coming around a corner, there was a scorched teddy bear lying unattended next to two skeletons, one of its eyes missing and its fur tattered and mangy. A small skeleton was curled up next to a larger one against the building, both arms around where the waist of the other person would have been. The larger had its arms around the child's head, as if trying to protect it. Reaching her hand down to touch the bear, Sakura carefully picked it up, inspecting it, when suddenly everything changed.

It was daylight, a light so brilliant she had to squint, used to the dim lighting of her home. People filled this little park, playing games and laughing. She was in amongst them, but somehow seemed as though they were a million miles away. Everything seemed a bit blurred, vague and yet clear as crystal. Still, the music-box tune rose above the chatter. The stalls and rides were brilliantly colored again and everything was sound and laughter and light. Then, an immense sound like thunder filled the air and everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to the source. A light more bright than the sun flashed in their eyes and they all screamed as they felt themselves burning. Sakura, not feeling what they did, shut her eyes, clutching onto the teddy bear.

Waking up with a start, Sakura was panting and a cold sweat drenched her hair. Holding out her hand, she could still feel the teddy bear's mangy, scorched fur against her skin. Tears streaked down her face as she remembered a little boy in the dream who clutched what looked like a brand-new version of the bear to himself and chattered happily, clutching a fold of his mother's dress in his hand. The rosette-haired girl placed a hand over her mouth, stifling the sobs that threatened to wrench themselves from her throat. Taking a few deep breaths through her nose, she calmed herself down enough to close her eyes and let the tears escape silently. She didn't know what the dream meant – if anything – but she hoped she would never have it again.

"Goodbye, Mama," she said, her voice thick with unshed tears. She forced a smile to her lips and hugged her mother with one arm, the other laden with her bag. The woman forced a smile as well, her eyes red and puffy. She didn't want to say goodbye to her daughter just yet, but at the same time, wanted her to try to achieve her goal.

"Goodbye and good luck," her mother said into her daughter's shoulder. Unsure as to whether she would be able to bear it any longer, lest she change her mind, Sakura whispered another goodbye before kissing her mother on the cheek and turning away to the Lift that would take her to the Day Level. It was an enormous box that could hold almost a hundred people in it at any one time. It was as old as the City walls and still stood strong. The doors were comprised of two gates, ornately made in wrought iron, enabling the people seeing off their children to look at them for the last time ascending like angels behind the gates of St. Peter. Gold though they were not, they still promised the chance of a better life, a life in paradise. Not unlike Heaven. From the inside of the box, it seemed as if it were merely an iron cage instead of a pair of symbolic iron wings. It felt almost as if they were animals there. Sakura was squished into one corner, protecting her precious cargo from any who might find this time as opportune a moment as any to practice their pick pocketing skills.

While clutching her bag to herself, the girl shoved her arm between the bars of the Lift, waving frantic goodbyes to her mother, the only family she had ever known. A tear or two ran down her cheeks, only growing slightly in amount as she felt the Lift shudder beneath them before slowly starting to rise. Pulling her arm back inside, she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, taking a deep, shuddering breath. Leaning her forehead against the bars, she sighed, feeling a rush of air as the Lift gained more speed.

"Hey! Forehead!" a familiar voice cried. Sakura turned her head to see her friend pushing and shoving through the crowd towards her, "Get outta my way! Move it! Woman on a mission here!" She got some of the dirtiest looks Sakura had ever seen. When Ino had finally made it over to her, Sakura was welcomed with a poke in the forehead. "Don't lean on the bars. You've got a red mark the size of the Night level on there. You'll only attract attention to it."

Sakura sneered at her friend, "Funny. Very, _very _funny, Ino-pig." Sticking out their tongues at each other like children, they laughed at each other weakly. The pink-haired girl sighed again as Ino started chattering about the younger Uchiha brother. Sakura just tuned her out, daydreaming. She had borne Ino's chatter about Sasuke now, usually resigning herself to her daydreams while her friend continued on in her incessant banter. Her mind drifted back to that dream she had had the night before. The spinning horses, the warped poles and metal bodies of the animals, the bones, the teddy bear. The flash of light. It was all so real. She could only wonder as to whether this was another bout of an overactive imagination or whether it could actually _mean_ something. She was told that the Readers on the Day level sometimes had premonitions in the form of dreams. Readers were a special brand of people identified at birth by unnatural lines on their bodies. These markings are a physical manifestation of a genetic sensitivity to the electrical current flowing within living things. By being able to read the fluctuations in the current, it was said that they could look at a person and tell whether or not they were lying, sick, diseased etc. They were almost always brilliant beyond what a normal person could imagine, being able to master abilities at an unnaturally young age. The drawback to being genetically predisposed was the fact that they were only predisposed. This meaning that the subject had to be altered some to be able to magnify what sensitivity they already possessed to inhuman levels. They said that Uchiha Itachi was one such predisposed person, but refused to be tampered with as a toy for scientists. "I'm not going to be their lab rat," the proud boy had exclaimed, following this statement by claiming that the Readers "have a right to choose their own fate, rather than having it forced upon them," as most Reader infants are altered at a very young age with implied consent. Itachi escaped that fate by way of his mother believing that he was fine just the way he was, not needing to be altered in any way. As for Sasuke, neither he nor his family had mentioned anything as to whether or not he bore markings like his brother. Some Reader traits floated around in the general populous, but the scientists in charge of the Reader programs usually disregarded those who didn't bear markings because 90 of the time, they couldn't control what they Read, usually Reading subconsciously while the person slept, giving rise to unnaturally real dreams that seemed to predict the future.

In addition to being extremely useful to Police Forces in interrogations – due to their abilities to sense if a person was lying – Readers could also serve as elite soldiers to the Houses. For, not only were they able to see the flow of electricity, they were also able to _alter_ it, or cut it off completely. In the case of soldiers, this meant that they could disable the electrical impulses in a person's body, rendering them unconscious and even dead without the Reader suffering a scratch. However, their value was multiplied by the fact that they were so rare, meaning that even though they were so powerful as to surpass the power of a well-trained entertainer in a fight, there were so few of them that the use of an entertainer in battle overshadowed them, as they were easier to come by.

Sakura brooded over this for a while before being poked by Ino.

"Hello? Forehead? Y'all right? You seemed kinda out of it."

The pink-headed girl shook her head, smiling, "I'm fine, it's nothing."

Ino shrugged, "Whatever you say, billboard-brow."

"Keep talking, porker."

Momentarily scowling at each other for the names, they shook off the affectionate teases before staring out between the bars of the cage. Ino sighed and ran a hand through her hair, pulled back into a high ponytail. Sakura looked over at her friend, cocking her head to one side.

"Eh? What's wrong?"

The blonde girl shook her head, "Nothing's wrong, I'm just amazed." She motioned to the Twilight Level spread out below them. It was beautiful in its own way. Haphazard, crumbling buildings lay at the edges of the Level, given a heavenly glow through the light that came around over the walls. The newer, pristine buildings circled closest around the Lift area, as a result of wealthy citizens passing closest to that area. Lights glowed from windows and one could see children running through the streets, adults buying groceries – the beauty of everyday life was everywhere and they could see it all, as if they were angels overseeing everything below them, beholding the beauty spread out below them. Sakura nodded at her friend's observation.

"Yeah. It's pretty."

A sad look crossed Ino's face, "But at the same time, it's sad, you know? I mean, we don't know if we'll be coming back for eleven years. If we got chosen by a House that's not in the Twilight level, we would only see it sooner if there was a war here and our House rallied to fight with them – something I hope I won't see happen here. Ever. You know what I mean?" she turned back to her friend, tearing her eyes away from the city below.

"I guess so," the pink girl nodded, "It would be horrible if this place was torn up by a war. We'd lose everything. I read in a book once that five hundred years ago, a man by the name of Orochimaru attempted a coup d'état of the Day Level Houses. Left the Twilight Level in ruins. Needless to say, his attempt failed, but the Twilight people lost everything," pausing for a moment, she subconsciously brought a finger to her lips in thought.

"What is it, Sakura?"

Sakura chewed on her lip for a moment before answering, "Well, it's just that there has always been a man named Orochimaru in charge of half of the Night Level. I'm just wondering… the excuse has always been that the successor of the previous Orochimaru would adopt the name, but I'm just wondering. The personality of this Orochimaru in the book is by all accounts very similar to the one we have now…" she trailed off, deep in thought. Ino laughed.

"What are you suggesting?" she chuckled, "That he's immortal or something?"

Sakura shook her head, "No. No, that's not what I mean. Immortality is impossible. Mmm, I'm not sure how to explain it," sighing, she threw up her free hand in defeat, still clutching the bag, "Whatever. I don't even know what _I'm_ talking about, let alone trying to explain it all."

Ino chucked to herself again and prodded her friend, "You're just being paranoid, billboard. There's no way that guy's lived this long. If he has managed to, I'll laugh. The old fart would need to kack it soon, for the sake of all of us. I mean, we can't have some 500-year-old megalomaniacal geezer lording over us all if he ever _does_ manage that coup d'état you talked about. Ya know? That'd just be depressing."

Sakura laughed and shrugged, "That would be. But there's one problem," she stated, pressing her finger to her lips pensively again, "Our Orochimaru doesn't loot five-hundred-plus years old. He looks like he's in his thirties."

Ino sighed, "Which is why he _can't_ be five-hundred-plus years old. Seriously, Sakura, they're probably just related," she shook her head, "Y'all know how family can act alike."

"Mm. But still-"

"Oh, come _on_. Give it a rest already. If you get chosen, you can look up the family history? Then'll you be happy?"

Sakura laughed, "Yeah. I'd be very happy indeed. Means I could investigate my little brainchild unhindered."

As they laughed to each other, they felt the Lift shudder to a halt as they reached the Day Level. They couldn't see anything. There seemed to be a box surrounding them, with artificial light coming from recesses in the ceiling. First, the wrought iron gates opened, sliding to the sides, then, with a horrid screech, the metal box's doors opened, bathing them all in blinding light. A few girls cried out while others covered their eyes, overwhelmed by more light than they had ever seen in their lives and consumed by the pain behind their eyes.

They had seen the light. Sakura pushed through the crowd, tentatively stepping off the Lift onto solid ground. Warmth enveloped her and she closed her eyes, lifting her head up into the light. After a second, she opened her eyes, staring up at the blue, blue sky and the fluffy white clouds. Clouds she had only seen through the cracks above the walls of the Twilight. Feeling something well up within, a smile welled up within and she started laughing. Tears gathered in the corner of her eyes as she laughed.

She was here.

Still smiling, she whispered to herself, "I wanted the world to see me… and now they can."


	4. City of Light

**A/N: Alright! Long weekend new chapter. I get bored, yes, and now that I have the laptop back, I have FREE REIGN once more! Hahaha! However, it's back to school tomorrow - a fact at which I am NOT particularly pleased, but it must be done. In any case, the next chapter for your enjoyment. _REVIEW OR I WILL NOT UPDATE! _Thank you!  
**

**3 – City of Light**

Hesitantly, other girls started squinting around the doorways at the new world they had entered. It was just like Sakura's mother had described. Gleaming white. Sakura squinted around, slowly getting her eyes used to the light. People walked around in grand clothing of such grandeur and loveliness. Colors of red, gold, black and silver and all and any other colors anyone could possibly imagine graced the bodies of these clean, upright people. Sakura started laughing again and a few girls behind her started giggling as well. Spinning in a circle, her rosette hair fanning out around her, the girl hopped around, her arms up in the air, relishing the cool breeze against her bare arms. A few other girls hopped out of the Lift, including Ino, who came and bounced around in a circle with Sakura, holding her hands in excitement.

A man and a woman in long coats came up to the group of girls, the woman bearing a coat of violet and white, but the white seemed to be many colors in itself, shimmering as it moved in the light. Upon the white breast was emblazoned a violet swastika symbol – the seal of the House of Hyuuga. The man was bearing a coat of identical design in red and white, the same shimmering, multi-faceted white of the Hyuuga coat. However, instead of a swastika symbol upon the breast, there was a red and white fan – the seal of the House of Uchiha. He also had a bag slung over his shoulder which seemed to jingle as he moved. The two bowed to the group of laughing and smiling girls before raising their heads to speak.

"Candidates, welcome to the Day Level. We are the representatives of the Houses Hyuuga and Uchiha," the woman from Hyuuga stated softly, her eyes never raising from the ground. She was a pale woman, as if she didn't go out into the sun that the girls treasured so. Black hair cropped short framed her face and strange pupiless lavender eyes. The man was tall and proud, standing straight backed with his chin lifted in pride. Sakura contained her squeal of delight inside as she recognized his face from many reports she had seen. Uchiha Sasuke. Dark haired and dark eyed, with a hairstyle she could only describe as resembling the back end of a chicken. However, he seemed… shorter than Sakura had envisioned him, but no less handsome.

"As representatives from the main families of each House, it is our duty to escort you to the building in which you shall reside until such time as you are either eliminated or chosen by a House," the younger son of Uchiha stated, his tone bored and his eyes wandering as he said so. Sakura could feel Ino shaking with excitement beside her, her eyes shining with admiration. However, as was per usual for the renowned Uchiha boys, Sasuke payed little if any attention to the myriad of love-struck girls waiting to pounce. If anything, he seemed bored of it all. The Hyuuga girl pressed her index fingers together and said softly again,

"Now, if you would come with us, we will show you to your rooms."

Sasuke grunted in an almost annoyed way, "Hn."

Without further ado, they both turned their backs and started walking in another direction. The girls stood there for a moment, overwhelmed, before running after the two Great House heirs. There was no mistaking the Hyuuga. She was the heir to the House of Hyuuga, Hinata. Rumor had it that her father neglected her for both having a poor leading abilities and a completely ridiculous reason in Sakura's eyes. She was in love with a guard of the House of Uchiha – an idea that her father found most appalling due to the rivalry between the two Houses.

"It's him! It's really him!" Ino whispered to me excitedly.

"I know! And that's Hyuuga Hinata!"

They giggled for a moment like schoolgirls, biting their lips. Looking around her, Sakura still had to stare in wonder at the buildings around them. Shining white with glittering, smooth glass, they sparkled in the sunlight. There were several very old buildings which seemed more ornate and less clean-lined. One such building was an old church, seemingly as old as the City itself. It was ornate to the point of over decorating and stained glass filled the windows, making colorful reflections bathe the candidates in a rainbow. Hinata and Sasuke walked them to the edge of the Day level before turning down the walkway running along the edge. Peering over, it was a cloudless day and one could see for miles. Sakura stopped, staring over the edge. It was so green. Everything was green as far as she could see – fields of nothing but grass. A few trees were scattered here and there. She had to stare as she noticed a few beautiful pink trees. Flowers budded all over their branches, some pink, some white. She continued to stare contentedly, watching as the wind ruffled the leaves, waving the branches around. She could have stared all day. Only a rough grip on her arm made her look away.

"Enjoying the scenery, are we?" a man's voice growled. Uchiha Sasuke gripped her arm tightly. She nodded, but looked down at the ground sheepishly when she noticed his disapproving expression. He sighed before pulling her away and dragging her back to the rest of the group. She bit her lip, terribly embarrassed. Depositing her amongst the throng of other candidates, she mumbled a squeaky "Thank you," getting only a grunt in response.

"Hn. Annoying. Just don't fall behind. I'll leave you back there next time."

Sakura nodded numbly, her face heating up until she could swear she would die of embarrassment. Vaguely hearing the younger Uchiha snort in disdain upon returning to his position at the head of the group, her face reddened even more. Her first interaction with a member of one of the Great Houses and she had embarrassed herself royally. Pushing her way through the crowd until she got back to Ino, her face still red and her eyes staring at the ground.

"Where'd you disappear off to, forehead? You're gonna get yourself lost," she said in that southwestern drawl of hers, "And you're all red. What've y'all been up to?"

"I got distracted and fell behind," she mumbled. Ino was furious.

"You could've gotten lost! What were you thinking?"

"I'm sorry."

"How'd you find your way back?"

Sakura went even redder than she had already been and tried to hide her face behind her hair, "Sasuke brought me back," she squeaked timidly. Ino gasped and lost her voice for a moment or two, only emitting small squeaks.

"Y-You talked to Uchiha Sasuke," she whimpered. Sakura reddened even more – if possible – and nodded her head. Ino was silent, staring straight ahead of her. She was silent for so long that the pink-head started to worry.

"I-Ino?"

The blonde was still silent. The rosette-haired girl chewed her lower lip. She had a feeling that she was not in the good books. At all. Finally, the girl spoke.

"I can't believe you."

Sakura looked up, bewildered. A fine line between rage and sadness played across her face, twisting it into a look her friend would not soon forget. It gave her a pang deep down, as if she was a little girl being berated for something she had done terribly, terribly wrong. She didn't know why, but she had a feeling she had hurt Ino deeply.

"I thought you told me you didn't care about him. Yet there you go, getting all friendly!"

Sakura shook her head violently, "Ino, it was nothing like that! You've got it wrong!"

"How do I know you aren't lying like you did before?"

"I didn't lie to you!"

"I don't care!"

With that, Ino parted with her friend, deciding to stand on the opposite side of the group. Sakura's eyes burned and she placed a hand over her mouth as she held back tears which threatened to fall from her eyes. She felt like she had betrayed her friend, when in reality, she had no idea what she had done to anger Ino like she had. She chewed on her lip some more, trying to get the pain to drown out whatever guilt was plaguing her.

She walked the rest of the way to the building in silence. When the two heirs stopped, turning around to the group, the Hinata girl pressed her index fingers together again and said in that soft voice of hers, "This is the complex at which the candidates will be staying. The competition usually lasts two or three days, so those of you who remain in the competition will be residents here until you are eliminated or Chosen."

Sasuke continued, "We or other members of our Houses will escort you to Builders' Hall at 6:00 am sharp. That is in a half hour. If you are so much as a minute late, you are disqualified from the competition." Murmurs rose from the crowd as girls whispered in shock to their friends of the severity of the rules, but were cut off as he began to speak again, "As for rules here, after returning from the competition each day at 6:00 pm, you will be free to wander the Day Level, however, everyone _must_ be back in the building by 10 for curfew. That is the rule all over this Level, pertaining to everyone, not just you."

"You will each be assigned a room here in the building. Uchiha-san and I have your room numbers keys. If you would line up in front of us, tell us your names and we'll give you your keys. They have the numbers on them. Those with last names from A-M are to line up in front of me, from N-Z are with Uchiha-san," Hinata said softly, still pressing her fingers together.

"After you've been given your keys, go find your room. Do that, then get yourselves ready and meet us back down here in an hour," Sasuke said behore he slung the bag off of his shoulder, removing a clipboard and a ring of keys and handing them to Hinata before removing his own and standing upright again. The group of girls lined up in front of their respective person. Sakura joined the line in front of Hinata. Slowly, her line made it's way forward and, for the most part, she remained silent. Then, a voice made its way over to her from the other line. It was Ino.

"How's about a date, Sasuke-kun," she flirted, batting her eyelids. Sasuke wrinkled his nose, taking a step back.

"Not interested, thanks."

Ino pouted, but called out her name to him, "Yamanaka Ino."

"Room 503. Here's your key," he stated, shoving the key into her hands before looking over her shoulder, "Next!"

Sakura made her way forward until she was standing in front of the Hyuuga heir. Bowing, she stated her name, "Haruno Sakura."

"Room 522, Haruno-san," she said, smiling a little. Sakura thanked her before clutching her bag to herself again and making her way into the building. It was as grand on the inside as it had been on the outside, the outer walls covered by a granite that sparkled as if there were diamonds within the rock itself. The inside was tiled with green marble, granite pillars of the same type as the outer walls supported the ceiling of white plaster.

She assumed that her room, being 522 would reside on the fifth floor – it was only logical, after all. Standing in the center of the grand room, she looked around frantically for the staircase, finding none. Wandering around, she both admired the architecture and looked for the elusive staircase. She was by far too proud to ask a staff member, so took it upon herself to look instead. Wandering around the bottom floor, she finally found it in a hallway that had been hidden off to the side. The staircase was a white marble in contrast to the green that lay on the floor. The walls were covered by fancy-looking wallpaper and the banister was polished wood. Climbing the stairs flight after flight, she finally reached the fifth floor, counting up the room numbers until she reached the door bearing the gold-plated 522 mounted on the door. Shoving her key in the lock, she gingerly touched the handle, as if her hands were not good enough to touch the expensive, clean handle. Turning it slowly, she opened the door, stepping inside and slipping off her shoes, burying her toes in the thick carpet on the floor.

It was glorious. She had never seen a room so… big. It must have been 18 feet by 24 feet. The bed in the corner was large by all standards, but was dwarfed by the room. The thick, cream carpet went wall-to-wall, the striped green-and-white wallpaper wrapped completely around the room. A large window opened in the wall, with an amazing view out over the edge of the Level. Sakura laughed, temporarily forgetting her spat with Ino, running over and jumping excitedly onto the large bed. Lying back on the pillow, she closed her eyes and let loose another laugh. Picking herself up, she ran around the room, checking each detail in excitement. She felt like a princess.

Hopping back onto the bed and lying on her stomach, she undid her bag, pulling out the dress and everything that went with it, slipping everything on, pinning her hair up, putting on the jewelry and finally removing the tessen themselves from the bag. The girl flicked them open tossing and catching them before flicking them closed again, smiling as the metal made a sharp sound as she did so. She tucked the fans into her sash, tied around her middle while she wandered back to the window, sliding the glass to the side. A cool breeze ruffled the curtains, blowing an annoying piece of pink hair into her eyes. Sakura scowled and pushed it back, staring out the window at the scenery. Once again, she was nearly overcome by the pure, natural, untouched beauty of the fields. Sighing and smiling lightly to herself, she turned away from the window and slipped her feet into her shoes again, sighing as she locked her door behind her. Back out into the real world again.

Descending the stairways, she turned to a painting hanging in the stairwell. A child played with a puppy, his eyes alight with laughter and autumn leaves blowing all around him. In the background stood an image that made Sakura stop in her tracks and stare, wide-eyed. It was the machine with the horses. A- a carousel. She didn't know where the word came from, but she could only picture the spinning carousel in her head, the horses black and twisted, their "shadows" blasted upon the axel. A small boy's voice came to her ears, whispering, echoing, haunting.

_Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens…_

_Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens…_

_Brown paper packages tied up with strings…_

_These are a few of my favorite things…_

Sakura tore her gaze from the painting, settling her eyes on the tile stairs below her, trying to focus her mind on something else as her step faltered with shaking.

_Cream colored ponies and crisp apple strudels…_

_Doorbells and sleighbells and schnitzel with noodles…_

_Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings…_

_These are a few of my favorite things…_

She picked up her step, skipping stairs altogether as she bounded down the stairs, throwing a look over her shoulder at the painting. The child's eyes still alight with laughter only making the voice singing all the more unbearable as she ran through the main floor.

_Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes…_

_Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes…_

_Silver white winters that melt into springs…_

_These are a few of my favorite th-_

As she ran through the door, the voice stopped, as if it were confined to the building. Sakura turned around, gasping for breath and stared at the building, it's cold, white exterior seeming almost loathsome as she stared at it. Feeling people stare at her back, she plastered a smile on her flushed, scared face. She gave her hand a little wave before shuffling away from the door and trying to avoid people's stares. She saw Hinata cock her head to one side concernedly and Sasuke roll his eyes and sigh, muttering something including the worlds "that girl" and "annoying".

Sakura saw some other girls practicing their arts. Some sang, some played instruments, others slowly mapped out the footing of their dances. One foot in front of the other, dip to the side, tumble forward. Sakura removed one of the tessen from her sash, tossing it from hand to hand as she had done so many years ago, adjusting to the weight of the metal. She smiled slightly to herself, slipping the tessen back into her sash. She wouldn't reveal what she had in store just yet. Her mother had said to her that in the world of the entertainer, showing one's assets too early could mean that the crowd would grow bored of them, killing their courier. These girls foolishly practiced their arts, not knowing that others waited and watched, just as Sakura did, absorbing whatever they saw into their steely memories. Those were the girls that the Houses would ultimately choose – the stealthy ones, the ones that bided their time, the ones who waited and observed the actions of everyone else purely for the benefit of their House. They would sit and watch, fierce when needed, calm when needed, ever observing and ever recording information within the confines of their mind.

Instead, she watched some of the other dancers, frowning slightly when she saw footings similar to hers. Revising her own dance in her head as she watched, she mentally created a dance completely different from any of the fools exhibiting themselves presently. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ino – a pinpoint of blonde, easy to spot – observing everyone as well.

Within half an hour, those who hadn't forgotten the time were all assembled outside the building. Sasuke looked up at a stained-glass clock suspended at the apex of the roof of the building mouthing the words "five, four, three, two, one."

BONG. BONG. BONG. BONG. BONG. BONG.

He smirked at he heard muffled shrieks from inside the building. He and Hinata moved over to the doors, greeting those who rushed down the stairs, looks of terror in their eyes. A few bowed professing exuberant apologies, others just looked at the ground in silence. Sasuke looked them all over, making sure none snuck into the other group of girls.

"Ladies," he started, "One of the crucial points of being an entertainer is a sense of punctuality. Being able to show up on time, or early for any given event, even if you are given such little time as you were."

Hinata started speaking, "I'm sorry, but you all will have to come with me. I'll take you back to the Lift. You failed the first test," she said meekly. A few of the girls let out cries of despair, shaking their heads and letting tears run down their cheeks. Sakura had to feel a little for these poor girls. They had prepared their entire lives for this day and had botched it within a half hour of arriving. However, she had to agree with the Uchiha. Punctuality _was_ key, and they had failed. Hinata nervously led the weeping girls from the building back to the Lift. They didn't try to resist. If they tried to escape and became a street-liver, they would be picked off by one of the groups the Day Level denied the existence of. Sanitization Units. They were groups that 'sanitized' the entire level of anything living after curfew. They took orders from no one but the director of the organization, thus, anyone – not only pertaining to common folk, but House members as well – found after 10:00 on the streets of the Day Level would be sanitized.

One girl, however, stood stationary. One of the other girls looked over her shoulder and saw her friend standing still and ran back to her.

"Yuka? Are you alright? Yuka?" the girl pleaded with her friend. She didn't move. She only said,

"I'm a failure."

"No! You're not! We can go back and get jobs and be fine, Yuka! Please!"

Yuka shook her head, looking up at her friend with eyes glazed over, "You go ahead, I'll be right there."

The other girl bit her lip, but did as her friend said. Sakura watched this exchange, having a sneaking suspicion about what was going to happen. Turning her back to the girl, she stared up into space. Other girls gasped and screamed as Yuka slit her own throat with a kunai, a knife that was used in defense and –probably this girl's case – dance. Sakura bit her lip as she watched Yuka's friend turn around and scream, running back to the body lying prone on the ground. The rosette-haired girl turned and looked at the body, having to suppress the urge to vomit as some other girls were doing. Yuka lay in a pool of her own blood, crimson bubbles coming from the slit in her throat where she had cut her airway. Her eyes still looked around her, but were soon glazed over in death as her friend wailed over her corpse. Sasuke sighed, bringing his wrist to his mouth and speaking to it,

"Yeah, we have a Signal 8. If you could come collect the body, that would be great."

He pushed through the crowd and crouched down next to the weeping girl, with a hand on her shoulder and speaking to her in a lowered voice so no one else would hear the conversation. The girl nodded her head through the tears and he patted her shoulder reassuringly. Standing and turning back to the group led by Hinata that had stopped some ways down the road, he called over to her.

"Hyuuga! Keep going, this girl here is going to wait for the Squad. Alright?"

The Hyuuga nodded and motioned her group along the path back to the Lift. Sakura pried her eyes from the bloody body and the sobbing girl and turned them back to Sasuke, who was waving at them all in a certain direction. Casting her eyes over to Ino, she saw the girl take a few steps forward before tearing her gaze from the body. They weren't tools, they still felt, they still hated, still loved, still cried. Hearing the wretched sobs of the girl, Sakura bit her lip and forced herself not to look back, following the rest of the group along the cobbled roadway – away from the outskirts of the Level.

The buildings gained more color and life the further into the Level they got, with reds and greens and blues decorating around doorframes and windows. The farther in they got, the more people they saw, as well. Dressed in the most elegant, expensive-looking clothing one could fathom. Reds and golds and greens and blues; any color you could ever imagine was laced over these people's clothing, each with a patch of their breast as to which house they were loyal to. The violet swastika for the Hyuugas, the red and white fan for the Uchihas. The majority of people smiled and waved to the girls, little children laughing and staring in wonder at them as they paraded down the street, led by the younger of the two Uchiha brothers. However, there were those who wrinkled their noses, and scoffed at the "Lower City girls who should just stay in their little holes." Sakura, well, she figured that if she were chosen, they wouldn't be the ones looking down at _her_, but _she'd_ be the one looking down at _them_. The satisfaction would be oh, so complete.

She didn't know how long they walked – quite a while, but not long enough that they were tired. Some forgot that these were girls from the Lower Levels, those accustomed to walking distances. However, the apprehension that everyone felt during those times between leaving their quarters and coming upon Builders' Hall. No one really knew why it was called what it was, but legend said that the Builders had hidden away a great repository of knowledge there from before the wrath of the Gods was brought down upon them. For centuries, Houses had searched for it unsuccessfully, wishing to obtain the knowledge of the Builders that they might dominate the other Houses and control the City freely. In accordance to the legend, this great structure in the center of the Day Level was called Builders' Hall.

Sakura stared up at the sky, trying to drown out the sounds of the girl's screams as her friend slit her own throat by staring into the clouds. She shuddered inwardly. She had seen death before, yes, but that was from sickness, not knife wounds. There had been no blood on him, the last time she saw him. He had looked like he was asleep, too pale, his skin flickering with orange and yellow light as his body was burned. She had very few memories of her father, but she remembered vividly the times when he was sick – near the end of his life. He had been a big man, strong and kind, a guard for the Sabaku family. Kind blue eyes – or had they been green? – and a head of blonde hair that never looked neat no matter what he did. He'd done everything for her, his only daughter.

Then he'd gotten sick.

He'd stayed in bed one day with a fever and had developed chills, later complaining about pain. It had scared Sakura when he told her to stay away – she was, after all, just a little girl. He'd been so tired and so weak that he could barely lift a fork to his lips for food. A nurse had to come in to take care of him, for her mother couldn't leave work, no matter how much it had pained her. However, as tired as he said he was, it was a trial for him to actually sleep. The nurse had said that he'd gotten very, very hot and complained of boiling in his own skin, even in this dead of winter. The next stage had scared Sakura deeply from her position in the room next door. A crazed, half-laugh, half-sob came from the room as her father babbled incessantly about the little men shooting arrows at him from the plant across the room. Sakura's mother had sent her to Ino's for the weekend so she wouldn't have to listen to her father babble and laugh as if he were insane. Sakura didn't know what happened to her father after that, but she remembered collecting her things from Ino's and going to the front door to see her mother and Ino's mother talking, the latter of the two women turning to look at her. But what had that been in her eyes? Pity? She hadn't known, but when her and her mother had gone her grandmother's house instead of back home, she knew there was something very wrong.

Their house had been blocked off, a red stripe painted across the door, looking like a demon had come and smeared his blood-covered hand across the wood. They hadn't been allowed to return there. Everything except the few valuables her mother had brought with her was burned along with the house. Her father's body had been burned as well, and she received looks of pity from everyone around her as this little girl, maybe four years old had placed flowers on her daddy's memorial without a tear – they hadn't been allowed to put his body there because of his sickness. She had found out later that her father had died of bubonic plague, a sickness that had been rampant at that time. The Sabaku children's own mother had died of it the same year, along with their uncle the following. Sakura was just lucky that neither her nor her mother had caught the sickness from her father while they were living there, although that may have been due to the fact that they had never really been with him while he was sick – a fact they had both regretted and been thankful for. The nurse that had cared for him had died a week after he had.

However, the girl in the street was completely different. Blood everywhere, little wheezing sounds coming from the broken windpipe as little red bubbles came through the blood from it. She shuddered again and wiped the image from her mind – or tried to, leaving only her mind's eye's version of an imprint on the retina. She shook her head and continued walking, focusing on putting one foot in front of the other.

They stopped. Sakura looked up to see what would now be considered a Turkish-style building covered in red plaster and four great towers creating a square around it. Great domes with gold spires rose all around it, with the central dome dwarfing all else. It was immense, having to measure almost 400m in perimeter. Sasuke stepped up one or two steps towards the large door before turning back to the group and throwing an arm behind him toward the Hall, palm towards the sky.

"Welcome to Builders' Hall(1)."

**A/N: (1) I based most of my design of 'Builders' Hall' on the Turkish 'cathedral/mosque/museum' in Istanbul called the Hagia Sophia. It will be put into greater detail in the next chapter, so, if you want, you can have a photo of the interior of the Hagia Sophia up at the same time, just to get the feel for what I meant.**

**REVIEW PLEASE! **


	5. Competition

**A/N: Alright, I'm so sorry. I'm not dead, I swear! I had a serious case of writer's block and it's being stubborn and not going away. As a general rule, I write a chapter and leave one chapter in between what I've posted and what I've written as a sort of buffer, but since you all have reviewed so nicely, I'm going to put this up anyway. And thank you to the person who tempted me with the prospect of brownies. You are why this is up here. You know who you are.**

**4 - Competition**

They filed silently into the Hall, splitting up to line the walls with color. Along the back wall, just like her mother had said, were the six heads of the Houses, little changed since her time. . Uchiha Fugaku, Hyuuga Hiashi, Nara Shikaku, the head of Akatsuki, Orochimaru and finally, the only new Head since her mother's time, one Sabaku Gaara. Strangely, he had been the youngest of the former Head's three children, but had proved stolid enough that the Sabaku family voted unanimously that he should be Head. Sakura was close to the head of the group, and thus, was up close to the table, on Uchiha Fugaku's side. Sasuke went and stood beside his father while Sakura gaped at the room. There was marble everywhere. There was white marble tile on the floor with strips of gold in between instead of grout – just like her mother had said. Mottled grayish pillars lined the room, with girls lined up in between them. The walls were covered with marble of all types; red, green, white, etc and the The high vaulted ceiling soared up into the central dome seen from outside, paintings and frescoes of angels and gods painted there. The dome seemed almost to float there.

She was drawn away from the ceiling as Uchiha Fugaku and Hyuuga Hiashi stood, staring out at the girls. Fugaku ventured a terse smile that was more like a strained turning-up of the lips than anything else. He looked over the crowd lining the walls before speaking in a large, resonating voice.

"Ladies, I, Uchiha Fugaku, would like to welcome you to the annual Entertainer's competition."

Hiashi began to speak next, just as Sasuke and Hinata had exchanged words while leading the group to the Hall.

"This competition varies in length from one to two days, thus, I hope your accommodations are to your tastes. We will begin the competitions immediately with Renault, Gloria. These lists are created at random, so you won't know who is next. Ms. Renault, if you will," he gestured to the floor before them before he and Fugaku took their seats. A girl clad in blue clutched a violin to her chest, shuffling forward until she stood before the table. Nervously, she placed the violin beneath her chin and waited for the nod from Fugaku, which she received, beginning. Her first few strokes were wrong notes resulting from nervousness, forcing her to start over. Sakura saw Sasuke flinch slightly at the jarring chords from the violin's strings. Sasuke wasn't the only one, either. She saw other House heads grimace fleetingly. Sakura knew for a fact that this Aiko girl would not make it, and she obviously knew it, too, for the girl's eyes glistened with unshed tears. She finished her song slowly, sadly, before shuffling back to her place, tears dripping down her face as she did.

"Delacroix, Hannah," Fugaku called out. A pretty girl in orange with a proud look on her face walked empty-handed up to the floor before the table where she began to sing in a soprano voice. Sakura watched all the girls intently, also copping glances at the table to watch the Heads scribble down names if they liked the performances. It continued on like that for quite some time, stopping every so often to read off the names of those eliminated. Sakura watched in horror as some girls committed ritual suicide right there on the floor, too proud to go home empty-handed. They had prepared their whole lives for that moment and they'd botched it, thus, they couldn't bear going on.

Two hours had passed already. Sakura's feet ached with anticipation – they wanted to dance for the Table of Heads and be done with it, whether she was eliminated or not.

"Haruno, Sakura," Fugaku called. It was as if the Gods themselves had heard her. She raised her eyes to those frescoes and thanked them silently for speeding up the process. Gaara sat up slightly, looking out over the crowd, the name 'Haruno' striking a bell somewhere in his head. She slowly made her way over to the place where she would dance, feeling a tightening of nervousness clench in her chest as she looked at the Table, waiting for her nod to start. Hiashi granted her that after what seemed like an eternity.

Sakura shut everything out, getting her breathing into rhythm with the tune she could hear in her head. When she opened her eyes, she was acutely aware of the fans in her sash, taking them out and balancing one in each hand. With another count of her breaths, she flicked her wrists, snapping the fans open with an obnoxious CRACK. She spun around, tossing those razor-sharp fans in the air like children's toys and catching them again in mid-spin. They twirled around in the air hypnotically, ever spinning, ever flying through the air like silver bullets. She snapped them open and closed, thinking of nothing but her footing and the tune, letting her hands think on their own. She sped up, spinning faster and dipping, flipping, swaying and spinning again. Then, it was over. She held her position, one fan-laden hand above her head, the other across her chest. Her heart was beating a hundred miles an hour, her eyes flitting around the room, the adrenalin still making her notice every little thing people were doing. Hiashi nodded to her again, signaling her to release her position. She snapped the fans back together, bowing to the Table before she made her way back to her position, one fan tucked back into her sash, the other in her hand. She turned it over and over beneath her fingers, feeling the silver plate beneath them. Returning to her position, she looked up at the table again. Sasuke looked positively bored, Fugaku wasn't faring too much better, and Gaara? Well, he was amusing himself by ripping pieces of paper and flicking them across the table at Sasuke, who glared. Hinata had joined her father at the table after escorting the newest batch of rejections back to the Lift. She was sitting there, staring at the frescoes on the ceiling.

This went on for four more hours, at which time, Sakura was pleased to admit that she had not been eliminated thus far. Round one was over, round two was about to begin, where those who had not been eliminated would perform their acts again before the Heads, allowing them to decide which ones they actually liked, and those who they just thought had done better than the rest. However, for now, it was lunch – which the six Houses all provided. Sakura hadn't seen so much food in her life. Tables were brought in by members of the Uchiha and Hyuuga Houses and then they brought out some of the most delicious food Sakura had ever seen. Seafood, cheeses, bread – anything and everything she had ever heard of in the way of food.

The girls all rushed over to the tables, looking at the food more than tasting it. Some of the adults at the Table looked at the girls with mild amusement, smiles teasing their lips as they watched the girls begin to eat. There was a knowingness in their smiles, though – a look that Sakura would have caught if she hadn't been overwhelmed with the food. She ladled some punch into a glass she held in her hand and brought it to her lips slowly. She stopped, though, when she noticed oil-like fluid floating above the punch itself. She cocked an eyebrow and set the glass down, staring at it oddly. She frowned, dipping a finger into the liquid and rubbing it between her thumb and forefinger. It felt oily and smelt vaguely of something else other than punch. Absently, she decided then and there that she wasn't hungry, seeing other girls doing the same thing whilst their comrades stuffed themselves.

They retreated back to their positions at the pillars, watching the other girls carefully. After a while, a few put delicate hands to their foreheads, eyes fluttering slowly. One by one, they collapsed to the floor in a dead sleep, glass breaking and light shrieks from those who watched. Hiashi stood from his seat at the Table, raising his hand for silence. The entire room quieted – it really was amazing the control he exerted over the floor. With a terse smile, he explained what was happening.  
"Welcome to round two, ladies. You've just passed the second test. Your powers of observation are no doubt higher than normal, as you were able to find the sleeping drug in the food. Congratulations."

Presently, Uchiha and Hyuuga servants came in with stretchers and placed girls upon them, carrying them to vehicles that would take them back to the Lift, where they would stay until they awoke. Sakura scanned the crowd of incapacitated women. No one she knew was there. Ino leaned against a pillar on the other side of the Hall, looking around haughtily, as if the drug should have been obvious. That Ino, she who thought she was the master of the known universe. Sakura smiled to herself and surveyed the numbers left. There had been maybe fifty left before the second exam, however, that number had dwindled to perhaps twelve.

"As for the rest of you," Fugaku continued. Gaara tilted his head towards him boredly, Orochimaru eyed the girls hungrily and the other three looked only mildly interested. "The finals will occur tomorrow at this time. Until then, you are free to roam the city, as my son and my associate's daughter must have explained, although there is a 10 o'clock curfew. They will pick you up outside your accommodations tomorrow at 12 o'clock sharp. I would advise not to dress in your best clothing, but bring your items with you. Until tomorrow. You are free to go."

With that, the girls were ushered out of the room, Sakura looking at the remnants of the girls still lying on the floor. It was certainly an unexpected test, although she saw the significance. The Houses wanted girls who were observant as well as talented – and punctual, she reminded herself with a grimace. Blood still ran along the gold 'grout' (for lack of a better word) from the suicides that had already taken place after elimination. The pink-haired girl frowned before exiting the hall, thoughts erased at the sight of the sky again. That seemed to be a new wonder every time she saw it.

The next hour or two was spent wandering around town, doing next-to-nothing except said wandering. Once in a while, she would stop in a small side shop to look at the beautiful crafts that were sold there. But everywhere she went, Sakura could swear there was the same woman at a different stall. She shrugged it off and entered a jewelry shop. There was jewelry so delicate that it seemed as if she could break it by breathing the wrong way, yet so strong that she could not have hoped to bend it. As she leaned over the glass jewelry case that contained so many amazingly expensive items, a salesman sauntered over and observed what she was staring at. A delicate-looking silver necklace with a pure white crystal nestled between the silver tendrils. (1) He smirked carnivorously. This girl looked too easy. He'd seen her type more than once. There was nothing better than a dumb little girl with daddy's silver. He plastered an amiable smile on his face before making his move.

"It's nice, isn't it," he said with a friendly tip of his head. The girl looked back up at him with a smile of amazement on her face.

"It certainly is," she replied, green eyes dancing.

He smiled, "It's one of the most popular items we have, modeled after a design found on the ceiling of Builders' Hall. Such a pretty girl as you definitely needs one of these."

Sakura flushed, "I'm not that pretty, sir."

The salesman grinned inwardly. This was going exactly as he wanted to. Stupid girl was playing right into his hands. He caught sight of one of his coworkers glowering at him out of the corner of his eye and tried to send a mental message. _Just watch me work my magic._

"Sure you are!" he said, with an even friendlier face than he had had before, managing to force a vague look of concern there, "You shouldn't put yourself down like that. You're prettier than a lot of girls who come here."  
The pink-haired girl turned even redder than she had previously been, if possible, "You really think so?"

"Truly! In fact, I think that a girl like you deserves to have something like this! Just watch." He removed a set of keys from his breast pocket and unlocked the glass case, removing the necklace from its resting place. Sakura's eyes widened at the sight of it glittering in the sunlight. He guided her over to a mirror and placing it around her neck, clasping it as she stared at it in the reflective glass. She brought thin fingers up to touch it carefully, in awe of such a valuable piece of craftsmanship on her person. The salesman licked his lips in anticipation. Now would be the time if ever.

"It's so… beautiful," the girl whispered, still in awe. He placed warm hands on her shoulders, which she then tensed, her eyes darting up to his face's reflection accusingly. He cursed inwardly. _Wrong move, moron_. However, he continued regardless.

"It looks better on you than anyone I've seen."

The girl ventured a smile again and subconsciously touched it again as if assuring herself of its presence – to make sure it wasn't a dream.

"So how about it?" he asked, smiling at her, "A beautiful necklace for a beautiful girl?"

Sakura smiled, reddened, and ran a finger along one of the silver tendrils. Her mother had packed some money in her bag, hidden among the folds of the dress. The girl wished her mother could have told her – she hated feeling like she was leaving her mother at a disadvantage. She had planned to give the money back when she saw her mother next, but this was so tempting – too tempting, it proved. She had seen the price tag, she knew it wasn't cheap, but she had enough money to pay for it – just. She pressed her lips together in thought. She could indulge herself now or not at all. She might never get another chance. After a few more seconds of thought, she pulled the silver from its place tucked within the folds of her dress. The salesman took it hungrily, his friendly demeanor lost. He said a hurried thank you and waved the beaming girl out of the shop.

He grinned and made his way back over to his coworker, piles of silver coins in his hands. He'd won. Another girl manipulated out of money. His coworker scowled and rolled her eyes. He just grinned. _I win_.

Sakura then wandered around town, a bright smile on her face, her hand touching the necklace subconsciously, still making sure it was real. Without thinking about it, she retraced her steps back to the edge of the Level, where the younger Uchiha had pulled her back to the group. She stared out at the fields on this cloudless day – those fields that could stretch on into forever. A contented smile played across her face and she fingered the necklace absently. A warm breeze kissed her skin, bringing some mist along with it. Night would soon be here, the mist was just a precursor. A few of the brightest stars glowed in the darkening sky, sparkling coldly from their distance.

Her mother had told her stories about those when she was a little girl, too. She'd said that the stars that shone from far, far up were holes in the ceiling of this world. Holes that led up into heaven, and their sparkling, mesmerizing light was heaven's light shining down through those holes in the patchwork sky. She'd also said that the mist was the gateway between the spirit world and earth, for it was not wholly here, nor there. You could see it, but not touch it. A silvery curtain that showed you the barriers of time. Of course, Sakura knew better now. In some ways, she wished she hadn't. It was like when she was a little girl, how she had thought that if you placed a seashell to your ear – a relic that her mother had saved from the house, it was an heirloom from before the God's Wrath, she said – you could hear what was called the ocean. A vastness of water that stretched into oblivion and back again. The crashing of waves in a rhythmic pattern over and over again. She said that you could hear the ocean because it was calling for it – it was calling to something that it had once loved, wishing to return. That was until Sakura had discovered that she could get the same effect by placing a glass over her ear. For some reason, the magic in everything seemed to go away. Everything seemed so much more… dull. However, seeing the sky… her thoughts trailed off into a smile. It was like a magic of its own, a glimpse back into the magic of her childhood. The childhood before she knew of the atrocities committed by Orochimaru and Akatsuki if you didn't agree with them. The most gut-wrenching methods of torture one could ever imagine.

Akatsuki was simple and blunt in their methods – you disagree, you die. End of story. Orochimaru, on the other hand, was less blunt and preferred less conventional methods. He would put his rebellious subjects to any amount of torture before he killed them – if the torture didn't kill them in the process. Sakura shuddered at the thought and tried to wipe the thought from her mind. Her mother had refused to tell her anything, but Sakura being the curious girl she was, as well as being tempted by the forbidden fruit, had looked it up on her own. What she had found had scared her into submission for the next month. She didn't dare disobey her mother – or anyone for that matter. She ached all over when she thought of it, so she tried not to.

Banishing these morbid thoughts from her mind, she stared out into the darkening fields again. She closed her eyes, simply letting the breeze carry away all her worries. A voice brought her out of her reverie.  
"You're in my spot."

She turned to look at the bearer of the voice, although it sounded strangely familiar. A dark-haired man stood there smiling pleasantly. He was strikingly handsome, even if he looked five or six years older. He looked remarkably similar to Sasuke, save for crimson eyes. Now there was a sight. She had never seen genetically crimson eyes before, however, she shouldn't have been talking – what with her and her pink hair. She recognized this man immediately.

"Sir Uchiha!" she gasped, inclining her head towards the ground and stepping away from where she had been. She thought she saw a flicker of emotion on the man's face, but if it had been there in the first place, it was gone as soon as it had come. He shook his head.

"No, no, no," he waved his hand casually, stepping forward and leaning against the railing, "Just Itachi, please. Can't stand that formal crap. Just because I have a different name doesn't mean that I'm any better than the rest of you. Isn't that right," he turned his head to stare her down with those red eyes, eyes that looked as if they were analyzing her as she stood, "Ms. Haruno."

Sakura immediately tensed, her eyes widening a touch. The hand that gripped the railing was instantly sweaty. She was suddenly very uncomfortable. Itachi just smiled and laughed.

"Don't be so tense, Ms Haruno. You just look like your mother is all, that and I heard from my father that her daughter was competing this year," he shrugged good-naturedly. Sakura relaxed a bit, but still asked how he had known it was her. He laughed again, tilting his head, "I guessed.

Sakura relaxed fully this time. Itachi was smart – brilliant, really – he could figure things out, this being no exception. She managed a smile and turned back to look at the landscape. She glanced over at the man, who had his head hung forward, eyes closed in fatigue. The famous Uchiha prodigy actually got tired. What an epiphany. She smiled to herself and gazed at the land, the sun falling towards the horizon.

"It's so pretty," she found herself saying, "You people up here are so lucky."

Itachi snorted in a fashion that would be unfitting of the heir of a Great House, a smirk running across his face although he didn't open his eyes.

"Tell me how lucky we are when our children who stay up too late are plucked off the streets by the Sanitization Units. Sometimes they even make it back to their house, banging on the door, crying while mothers inside wail because they will be sanitized as well if they open the door."

Sakura's brow furrowed with disgust, "I thought those were just myths" she said. Itachi laughed.

"Everyone likes to think they're myths, but no one dares venture outside after ten, you notice? The fact is; they're as real as rail you're leaning on, and no one dares oppose them, for they are bound by no rules. Not even the name of a Great House can stop them in their tracks," he laughed bitterly, "So tell me again who are the lucky ones here?"

"Disgusting," she would have growled. However, it came out as a high-pitched squeak instead. Her hand flew to her mouth and her face reddened instantly. Itachi laughed deeply as he turned to lean backward on the rail, his head leaned back casually, shoulders shaking.

"Don't try to growl too early," he said, catching his breath, "Kittens need to grow a bit first."

Sakrua wrinkled her nose, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Itachi shook his head, still smiling, "Nothing, nothing."

Silence then pervaded the scene, yet it was not uncomfortable. In the space of a few moments, he had exuded a feeling of relaxedness that calmed Sakura and led them to the comfortable silence the one finds between old companions – not often between two who had been strangers to each other mere minutes before. Sakura just stared out at the fields with a vacant, empty smile, her thoughts elsewhere. Itachi leaned his head back and closed his eyes again, seeking a bit of peace before he returned home. The clock chimed out nine o'clock and Itachi sighed, turning his head to the girl standing a few feet away.

"You should get back to your accommodations, it's getting late."

Sakura nodded before bowing to the older man, "Thank you for the company, sir Itachi."

He rolled his eyes again and reinforced his name, flicking her on the forehead like he did his little brother, "We've been over this. It's Itachi." He started walking back the way he came before calling over his shoulder, "Good luck in the finals tomorrow!"

Sakura waved, smiling and calling out a thank you. She laughed to herself and started running off back towards the building she was staying in, the sunset casting a dark silhouette on the ground. As she reached the molten fire façade of the building, she paused at the handle, remembering the little boy's voice. Taking a deep breath, she took the handle and pushed through, her eyes shut as if she were taking a leap over the Level rail into the unknown. Once she was inside, she opened her eyes, looking warily around her as if that nameless spirit were corporeal, able to be scared off with threats of going straight to bed with no dinner – as it was a child.

Stepping up the staircase that – she was proud to have remembered – was off to the side, she made her way back up to the fifth floor and her bedroom. Room 522. Sakura brought the key from its place fitted snugly between her sash and her dress, turning it in the lock to open the door. Her bag was still on the bed, open, its woven red and yellow designs standing out against the green sheets of the bed. She kicked off her shoes, closing the door behind her and hopping over to the bed. She jumped onto it and grabbed the bag, placing on the floor beside the bed. Leaning her head back on the pillow, she laughed in delight, fingering the necklace again. She still had a bit of a problem admitting that this was real. However, the sheets against her skin were proof enough that it was no dream.

She forced herself to get out of her position of comfort and took her nightgown from the bag, changing into it absently and slithering under the sheets. The cool night air wafted through the room and she closed her eyes for just a moment. Just a moment, but in that moment, she was so completely at ease that she dropped off to sleep without any hesitation.

* * *

_  
_

_Music-box, music-box, lilting on the wind_

_Children laugh, horses run, poor boy has sinned _

_Black and charred, melted, burned, horses spinning to tune_

_Melancholy, sad and soft, heard by light of moon_

_Music-box, music-box, lilting on the wind_

Sakura started singing to herself absently, spinning around that cool, moonlit field like a child. Her arms were outstretched on either side, loose rose hair swirling around her as she laughed. Then, she caught sight of the carousel and raced over to it, stopping as she was surprised to see two people there. Two men stood face-to-face, unspeaking. She couldn't see their faces, nothing but black shapes surrounded by the boneyard of the carousel. Sakura tilted her head quizzically, staring out at the two men as they seemed to be speaking now, but she couldn't understand a word. All she thought she could make out was 'brother'. In the time of a second, one of them brandished a sword – from whence it had come, Sakura couldn't tell – and shoved it through the stomach of the other. A scream started to rise in the girl's throat as the body crumpled to the ground, blood dripping off the sword in a luminous red. The only hint of color on the back silhouette. As the scream wrenched itself from her throat, the man still standing turned his face towards her and all she saw for that split second were ferocious, aloof, hungry red eyes.

**(1) Necklace based off Arwen's from Lord of the Rings. Just 'cause it's pretty. Insert crazed five-year-old giggle here. I like the shiny.**


	6. Home

A/N: Hoo... Well, I do believe I'm gonna get my butt kicked, what with my... lengthy absence. I've had writer's block like nothing else since like December, which has only started to go away maybe a week or two ago. DON'T KILL ME! I immediately finished up chapter five here, which ended up being a freaking 17 pages long. SEVENTEEN! Ahh well. I will try to update more often now... assuming that writer's block of DOOM doesn't kill me again.

Well! Enjoy the chapter! It's extra long this time, just for all of you!

**_OH! And tell me if there are any errors, so I can fix them!!!! _**

* * *

**5 – Home**

"Welcome to the finals, ladies," Orochimaru hissed, eyeing every one of the twelve hungrily. Sasuke glared down the table at the man before resuming what he was doing before – namely, nothing. As per instruction, Sakura had arrived in her second-best clothing, just her usual red shirt, white skirt outfit she wore back home. Her tessen were tucked comfortably away in a pouch on the back of her thigh.

The Table had nearly doubled in number of people this round, as the House Heads had brought the Heirs with them. The notable exceptions being Orochimaru, who deemed such formalities below him, the Leader of Akatsuki – whom had only brought a higher-ranking underling (Akatsuki never had an Heir Apparent, per se, as they would fight for the position after the death of a Leader) – and Gaara, who was too young to have appointed an Heir and was thus accompanied by his siblings. Hinata sat beside her father, who acted as if she were not there, Sasuke and Itachi sat on either side of Fugaku, the latter of the two brothers turning up the corner of his lips and inclining his head in a silent 'good luck' to Sakura, whereas the former just stared at the ceiling, bored out of his skull and making every opportunity to convey that feeling. Sakura could have laughed at him for his brooding, but decided it wasn't in her best interests. One Nara Shikamaru sat beside his father, eyes scanning the group with immense intelligence, but a frown of boredom on his face.

Sakura flitted her eyes to the floor and back, smiling in thanks for Itachi's 'good luck' nod. He seemed to have caught it and smiled – only a bit. Hiashi stood with that ever-present terse look he wore, hands resting on the table as he did so. He stared straight at the twelve girls who now stood before the table instead of between pillars. He tried to smile that terse, strained smile of his – trying to look more hospitable, but merely gave the impression that he was suffering a particularly nasty bout of indigestion.

"Welcome to the final round of the competition. I trust you all slept well in your accommodations?" he asked it like a question, yet it was thoroughly clear that it was not. Without hesitating, he began a speech that made Sakura's spine prickle with nervousness. "Today, you will be put to the ultimate of the four tests. This will be both physically and mentally trying for all of you. Certain… things have happened before, and I expect that they may happen again," he paused for effect, staring the twelve girls down.

To everyone's surprise, Itachi stood and continued, a look of approval and pride on his father's face. Sasuke wrinkled his nose, still staring at the ceiling, angry at the amount of attention his prodigy brother was receiving – the amount of attention he _always_ received.

"This test is voluntary. There will be those of you who will not wish to participate. All who wish to back out now may do so freely."

Sakura shuddered. The test sounded ominous, but she had made it this far – and she had to beat that sow Ino! She had to prove to her that she wasn't the 'master of the known universe' and that she could be one-upped sometimes. Things didn't always have to go _her_ way. Ino looked like she had no intention of quitting, either. She stared at the table with a vengeance, but still copped glances at the two Uchiha boys, unable to help herself. Four girls, though, scared by the speech the two men had made, shakily raised their hands. Itachi just smiled at them and smacked his brother's arm to break him out of his boredom-induced staring contest with the ceiling. Sakura brought her hand up to her mouth to stifle a giggle, which the younger boy caught, glaring in her direction. He muttered darkly and mouthed rather impolite words at his brother's back. Itachi shot him a cold look before the younger of the two led the girls out of the Hall, their shoes padding softly on the floor. The tiles – Sakura noticed – had been cleaned of blood.

"Of those of you who are remaining, I ask you to state your names so that we may recognize you all," Itachi pointed to the girl at the very end of the row. She said her name with authority and a bit of haughtiness.

"Kin Tsuchi."

The rest of them all introduced themselves one by one.

"Yamanaka Ino."

"Leslie Summers."

"Ama Tenten. (1)"

"Evelyn Adams."

"Haruno Sakura."

"Tayuya."

"Rin."

Itachi nodded, looking them all over before pointing to a doorway leading off of the main hall.

"When I call your name, please proceed through that door. You will receive your instructions inside. Ms Kin, if you would?"

The haughty girl, whose hair was unbearably long, sauntered over to the door haughtily, swaying her hips some. Sakura wrinkled her nose. That girl looked worse than Ino. She proceeded over to the door, taking the handle in her hand before turning to smirk at the rest of the girls and entering. The door closed with a loud 'clang' that reverberated through the hall. The silence was absolute, interrupted only by a muffled scream from the other side of the door, sending shivers down their spines. Minutes passed and finally, the door opened again and Kin stumbled out, no longer haughty and self-assured but tear stained, eyes wide. She stumbled towards the table, a piece of paper in her hand. She deposited it in front of Itachi and fell stared down at it, her breath catching in her throat in dry sobs, looking vacant. Said Uchiha picked up the paper and scanned it.

"Pass," was the only word he said. Then, he looked over at Ino, "Ms Yamanaka. You're next."

Sakura saw Ino pale visibly, her shoulders beginning to shake. Obviously deeply disturbed by the state Kin had come back in, she hesitated. Itachi arched a black eyebrow and repeated her name, urging her to go. Stepping forward, she slowly walked to the door, placing a shaking hand on the handle before turning a last glance over her shoulder and walking in. Seconds, minutes, Sakura couldn't tell any more. Only when Ino came stumbling back with pass paper in hand did anything register at all. She was pale as a ghost and her eyes were glazed. Her step was uneven and she had a distant look about her face. Another Pass. Next was the Summers girl, who never did come out, and was announced as a Fail. After her was Tenten, who took a deep breath before walking with a false air of self-confidence, only to reappear back outside shaking and looking visibly agitated, but with a Pass clutched in hand. The Adams girl reappeared from the door in a blubbering mass, her paper plucked from her hand by a visibly unimpressed Itachi, who read it as a Fail.

"Ms. Haruno, if you would please?" he asked, gesturing to the door, which had, at that point, had the Adams girl removed from before it. Sakura stared over at the door with a look of worry. Itachi gazed at Sakura pointedly, none of that friendliness he had had earlier visible in his eyes, "Ms Haruno?" Sakura froze, hands starting to tremble and body freezing. Taking a deep breath, she nodded, placing one foot in front of the other, forcing herself to move despite her conscience screaming 'don't'. Right foot. Left foot. Right foot. Left foot. One placed in front of the other. Once. Twice. The brass handle of the great door was only an arm's length away. She turned her head back to look at the remaining girls and the Table, where Itachi gave a slight nod of good luck, just as he had the other girls. She pressed her lips together, brushing a strand of pink hair out of her face and stepped into the darkness.

The door closed itself behind her.

As if on queue, light filled what should have been a room. The tile beneath her seemed to disappear and she fell perhaps a foot onto a bed of grass. Grass? The sunlight ached behind her eyes and she sneezed at its power (2). Eyes adjusted, she slowly picked herself up and stared at her surroundings. Grassy, hilly plains stretched out in all directions around her. Wildflowers occasionally dotted the landscape, and the wind flattened the long grass around in waves. Fluffy clouds loomed in the distance, but above her, there was nothing but blue.

"Hello?" Sakura called. There was no reply. Not even an echo. In fact, her voice itself seemed to have a strikingly flat sound to it – like the sound in one of those old moving-picture shows she had seen for a penny as a child with Ino. There was no echo, no reverberation, no reply. She tried again. The same reaction came of it. She sat back on the grass, resting her chin on her knees absently. If this was the final test – she mused, gazing out at the plains before her – she wondered what they wanted her to do.

"Sakura," a deep, male voice sounded behind her. Green eyes widened at the sound. It rang a chord somewhere deep in her memory, in a place she cared not to remember. Her lips parted slightly as she turned her head to see the man to whom the voice belonged. His face caught the breath in her throat as she saw it. Blonde hair covered his head and green eyes looked down at her – so they had been green after all.

"Daddy?"

"Hello sweetie."

He leaned down a bit and stuck out his hand in an offer to help her up. She hesitated for a moment before placing her hand on his, letting it rest there for a moment, as if making sure it was real. His hand was warm – hot even. He pulled her up to her feet and looked her up and down, his hands on her shoulders. She came up to his chin now.

"My little girl isn't so little anymore, I suppose," he smiled, squeezing her shoulders. Tears welled in her eyes at the sound of his voice. She knew this was a test – she knew it. But it was her father was standing, smiling before her and it wasn't a dream. She was only human – and humans are oft lured into temptation by familiar faces.

"Come on, give your Dad a hug," he said, opening his arms to her. Sakura started forward, but stopped herself. This was a test. She wanted it so much, but she couldn't.

"I can't, Daddy," she pushed one of his hands gently away, glad for the contact, but wishing for that offered hug.

"Sakura. I'm your father. We haven't seen each other in years and you deny me just a hug? Please. Just a hug."

"I can't," she protested again when he started walking forward by placing a hand on his chest to distance them, "This is a test," she forced a smile and pulled her arm back, holding it to her chest, "And you're not real."

Her father's arms lowered to his sides and his face lost it's smile. Green eyes, rather than smiling down at her looked disappointed. The wind over the plains stilled its blowing, creating an eerie silence as the sunlight turned from white to yellow-gold. Looking up at it, her hand shielding her eyes, the clouds that had been so distant swirled around the golden sun, even without wind.

"So you will abandon me again."

Sakura looked away from the sun and back to her father. The disappointment was gone from his eyes, to be replaced by anger, hatred even.

"Again? What do you mean again?" Sakura asked, confused and, with the onset of the glowing golden sun, slightly worried. "You were never-"

"You abandoned me!" he roared, silencing his daughter, "Your mother took you away and you never came back! Not even the nurse stayed! I was left to starve! I was abandoned!"

Sakura took a step away as her father raved, his cheeks flushing and voice raising. As she stepped back, the grass gave an unhealthy 'crunch' beneath her feet. Looking down for only an instant, the grass on the plains had turned brown, turning to dust beneath her feet. The flowers had wilted and lay colourless. The clouds above had started turning black before the gold sun as well.

"I was abandoned! You abandoned me!"

It was then that Sakura turned abruptly to run from her father's accusations, but nearly fell over avoiding the small body in her path. A young, dark-haired, dark-eyed boy looked up at her placidly, fisting a small hand in her skirt. She tried to brush his hand away, pulling backwards as she did so, but he held her in place with a strength not natural for his size.

"You will save me," he said, or rather, stated. His voice was that of a child, but his manner of speech was much too old. Sakura turned back to look at her father, who was still yelling at her from a few feet away. She tried to brush his hand away again, to be met with the same force, this time, though, she was pulled to her knees – looking him eye to eye. "But first," he continued, grasping her right hand, "You need to be saved." He left his words for a moment before smiling wryly, "This is a test, after all."

With a stutter, her surroundings went immediately from hellish plains to darkness. It was as if a screen were turned off. Sakura blinked for a moment before turning her head, then turning in a full circle, searching for the boy. None, but in her right hand was a slip of thick card.

Sakura closed the heavy door behind her, taking a step before staring back at it. She shook her head and walked steadily towards the table. Some of the other girls looked astonished that she only looked confused, not broken. Chairs had been set up on the other side of the room for those who had passed, and Ino looked up at her, her brow furrowing in annoyance at Sakura's steady step. Looking down at the paper card in her hand, she handed it to Itachi, looking up for the verdict. Itachi stared down at the card for a moment, looking up at her in confusion – it was folded in an envelope shape, unlike the rest of the papers. He opened it slowly, eyes widening and his mouth opening slightly. Anger flickered there for a moment, as it had when she talked to him on the rail, but she could have imagined it. He closed his eyes and breathed in, shaking his head slightly. Flapping his hand towards the seats, he mustered up his voice to say "Pass." More confused than ever, Sakura just did as she was told, taking an empty seat beside Ino. Although technically, she should still be mad at her, even the familiar pout and banter would be a welcome familiarity.

As she sat down, Ino scowled, "What took you so long, forehead? We were all waiting, you know." Sakura looked at her with a confused look.

"But I was only gone for five minutes."

Ino shook her head, now she herself looking confused, "Nuh-uh. You were gone for at least an hour. We were about to pronounce you 'failed', but there you were. What went on in there?"

Sakura looked back at the table, scanning her eyes over the house members sitting there, "I'm not sure."

Ino, although curious, left the question unanswered. "I'm still mad, you know."

Sakura smiled, "I know."

Ino smiled lightly back, leaning her head on Sakura's shoulder, "But I'm glad you're alright." Sakura leaned her head on Ino's as well,

"So am I."

After Sakura had emerged, the Tayuya girl was sent into the proverbial abyss, looking a little less nervous after Sakura's emergence from the depths. She and Rin, who for all her nervousness looked like a nice enough girl, both passed. Tayuya looked unfazed as she left, but her jaw was clenched a little too tightly, belying her agitation. Rin was holding back tears as she emerged. Although she was obviously able to resist whatever had been put before her, she looked like she had just barely done so.

"All candidates rise," Hiashi stood once more beckoning the girls to do the same, "As there are only six of you left, each of you shall be assigned a House, however, which house you shall be assigned is yet to be decided. As such, there will be a temporary adjournment of the council, to be resumed upon unanimous decisions. It will resume at the tolling of the six o'clock bells. Dismissed."

All six girls inclined their heads gracefully before filing silently out of the building. No sooner had the great doors closed behind them, though, than the girls started chattering excitedly, much to the amusement of the House guards standing outside. Rin seemed to be looking up at one of them, a small smile on her face, but before Sakura could identify which – nosy as she was – the girl turned back around. The excited chatter filled the air, after all, they were all to be brought into the fold of a Great House. However, there was still segregation within their ranks. Tayuya and Kin stuck together, as they were both Night Level girls while Tenten kept to herself for the most part, as she was from Day Level and was alone in the group. Instead, she sought out familiar faces on the street. Rin, Ino and Sakura bunched together as they were all Twilight girls, laughing together even though Ino still professed to be angry and despite the fact that they barely knew Rin. As it turned out, Rin was a girl from the other side of the level, where her family had set up a moderately successful clinic catering to most plague victims.

"Except septecemic plague. That's still a little beyond us," she sighed, "But then again, a couple years ago, we didn't know how to treat any plague, so we've come a long way." Sakura nodded in an understanding way. Ino looked up at a clocktower a ways away, shielding her eyes with a hand and squinting.

"Looks like we have about two hours to waste. Do we wander? I don't know about you, but this future entertainer is hungry. Besides, us Twilight girls have to stick together," she smiled. Rin nodded, feeling some comradeship form between the similarities. Sakura, who had been looking back at the great doors to the Hall, raised her eyebrows as Hyuuga Hinata tiptoed through. Some of the house guards hid smiles behind their hands as they turned a blind eye to the heiress. While Ino was debating where they could go (with herself, mind – Rin listened patiently) Sakura stole glances up at the girl, who had approached one of the Uchiha guards and was holding his hands sheepishly. She was saying something to him that brought a frown to his face and his shoulders drooped in a sigh. Shaking his head, he kissed her on the cheek and gave her a grin that would have lit up a dark room. She smiled and nodded her head. Sakura directed her attention back to Rin and Ino, smiling to herself. _So that is the rumored Uchiha guard she has an affair with._

It was then that Ino had decided what to do regardless of Sakura or Rin's input and was dragging them each by a wrist towards their destination. Apparently, she had spotted a pretty restaurant while she was wandering the day before and lusted after it's food. Although, Sakura had to ask if anyone had any money besides her (and even she had little left, thanks to her purchase the day before), to which Ino paused for a moment, grimacing. Rin stepped forward saying she had some pocket money, and Sakura offered to split the costs. Ino laughed, saying to put it on her tab – that she'd pay them back once she made entertainer.

She looked at the other two girls. Ino seemed to have blocked the test from the forefront of her mind – another thing Sakura was only half-surprised about – as she did most other events she found less than favorable. Rin put on a wide smile when either of the girls addressed her, but when she was left to her thoughts, that smile diminished and she seemed uneasy – brooding. She rubbed one of the purple markings on her face absently, looking slightly upset. With her free hand, Sakura touched her arm, casting her companion a worried look. Rin looked up, looking rather surprised, but smiled and shook her head, letting the hand touching the mark drop back to her side.

The café itself was a pretty little place in a back side street. Sakura was only half-surprised that Ino had found it – after all, Ino seemed to have a talent for finding nice, backwater, typically family-run little shops such as this. There was a fenced terrace with two or three tables, while the indoor area of the café was only about as wide as a hallway and maybe seven meters long. There were four or five small, two-person tables where the typical day-level person was sitting, chatting quietly amongst themselves. The three seated themselves at a terrace table and Ino cheerfully flagged down a waiter. The place had an old, worn feel in the sense that many people had passed through the doorway. The food they ordered was the cheapest on the menu, but apparently a novelty here in the Day Level – Twilight Style Curry Soup. It was painfully common back home, but in such an unfamiliar place as this, it was good to be reminded of it.

"So," Sakura said, then paused. It was a horrid old habit of hers – leaving the word hanging in the air as what she perceived as a prompt for conversation. More often than not, though, everyone just ended up staring at her expectantly, waiting for her to continue on a nonexistent tangent. Ino, used to her habits – be they good or bad – continued for her.

"So, Forehead. What were you staring at back there?" she asked, bringing the soupspoon to her lips and hissing at the heat. She cooled her tongue with a glass of water, "Good lord, that's hot. Anyway, tell me!"

Sakura smiled, shaking her head. _As demanding as usual_. She supposed that the euphoria of actually making it to entertainer had temporarily quelled Ino's anger. The blonde was looking expectantly at her pink-haired friend and even Rin's eyebrows were raised in curiosity. She sighed and continued to shake her head.

"Nothing. I was just looking around," she lied, hoping she sounded convincing. Apparently she did, as Ino frowned, but shrugged. Idle chatter was exchanged for the remainder of the time, Rin recounting experiences she had on the various jobs she'd held over the years. The range and scope was astounding. She'd done jobs from picking the abundant, accursed chili peppers that grew on the outskirts of the Level – the kind that made the curry soup they were eating – to being the acting-head-nurse in her family's clinic. Rin was certainly hard-working. Sakura kept her embarrassment down to a minimum as she recalled how she had only ever had a job at Ino's flower shop.

"Whatever. None of that matters now!" Ino chirped happily, "Now we'll be sending money to our families! My dad will finally stop saying 'now, young lady: your job is to keep me and your mother in the style to which we have or will become accustomed'," she deepened her voice, making an impression of her father, to which Sakura laughed and Rin tilted her head, smiling.

"Does your father really sound like that?" she laughed.

"Of course he does! I've been living with the old fart for nineteen years. I should kno-"

Ino was cut off by the sound of the belfry tolling the hour. Six chimes were tolled and several people on the terrace and inside the restaurant finished what they were doing, paid their bills and left in a hurry. Rin and Sakura split the costs of their meal, the blonde member of their little troupe laughing guiltily. Ino led them back to Builder's Hall, Tenten and Kin already waiting outside. The other three lined up in their respective positions, waiting a few minutes for Tayuya to come. Tenten informed her that she was late, to which she received a flippant 'screw you'. Tenten looked mildly offended, but settled with frowning and staring forward rather than engaging the girl. As the guards opened the doorway to the Hall, eyeing the girls warily, Sakura couldn't help but to stare again. The grandness of the Hall itself never ceased to astound her. The table of House Leaders and their heirs, sitting in the back-center of the room, were dwarfed by the sheer monolithic proportions of the ancient building – the ancient pillars, the worn marble, the gleaming dome overhead – that shone in it's glory around them.

The walk from the door to the table itself felt doubly longer than it was. Tension laced the air – everyone was agitated and concerned as to who they would be assigned to. The six girls stood before the leaders of the Great Houses, their heads tipped towards the floor respectfully while most everyone stared down the girls. The silence stretched on into an eternity while the girls waited and the Houses watched, solidifying their final decisions. Moments passed before Uchiha Fugaku stood, his mouth still pulled downward in a scowl.

"Once you are called by a House, please go and stand behind the appropriate leader and receive your new House Colours. Once this process is complete, you will be escorted to the appropriate House Compounds. Your possessions have already been moved there for you. Further instructions will be given there." Fugaku finished curtly, sitting back and looking pointedly at Gaara. Said boy placed his hands on the table and pushed himself up. Briefly looking at the girls, he called out his choice.

"As Leader of the House Sabaku of Twilight, we will take in Ms. Kin Tsuchi to be our Entertainer for the remainder of her eleven years of service."

The girl, who seemed to have reclaimed her masses of ego after her time left to herself, strode pointedly back behind the Sabaku chair, where Gaara's sister, Temari, presented her with the Sabaku family uniform. She settled herself behind Temari's chair after receiving the robes. Nara Shikaku stood after Gaara seated himself.

"We of the House Nara of Twilight will take Yamanaka Ino as our Entertainer."

Ino let a small frown flicker across her face before plastering a smile there instead – a smile which seemed to say 'oh well, at least I'm still at home'. She gave a 'good luck' look at Sakura and Rin, hoping that they were chosen for the Day level rather than the Night.

"I, Hyuuga Hiashi of the Great House Hyuuga of Day, choose Ama Tenten as our Entertainer."

A prickle of nervousness clawed its way up Sakura's back. There was only one Day Level position left. _If it isn't me_, she prayed, _at least let it be Rin_. _Please, at least let it be Rin._ As Fugaku stood again, Sakura bit her lip in apprehension.

"We of the House Uchiha,"

_Please._

"Of Day hereby choose,"

_Please._

"For our Entertainer,"

_Please!  
_  
"Tayuya of the Night."

Horror rocketed up Sakura's spine as the name passed the Uchiha patriarch's lips. _I am in a Night House._ It only sank in further as she watched Tayuya smugly accept the robes from Itachi, bowing her head as she did so. Sakura saw Ino pale from her place behind Shikamaru. A look passed between the two remaining girls – one of barely masked apprehension and fright. Orochimaru stood, his snake-like eyes carnivorous and frightening.

"I, Orochimaru of the Night have chosen the little flower Rin as my Entertainer."

Rin paled visibly at Orochimaru's wicked smile and attempt at smooth words. With a little hesitation, the auburn-haired girl bowed her head respectively, receiving her uniform from a smiling, grey-haired young who stood to Orochimaru's side. That left Sakura. And she knew exactly where she was going without the Leader of Akatsuki having to stand and say it. Numbly, she stepped around and behind the table, taking her uniform from a blonde man with a small thank you. She vaguely heard someone asking them to go outside and the blonde nudged her in the small of the back to get her moving. Outside, the House Guards took over where the heirs had left off. Sakura found the Akatsuki guard easily, thanks to his trademark black and red cloak. Tayuya immediately latched on to the silver-haired Uchiha guard, who seemed to be looking over some of the other girls worriedly. He wore a mask over most of his face, but his eyes – one of which bore a mangled scar from brow to below the mask – belied his emotion.

"Kakashi!" a familiar voice cried out. Sakura looked up and saw Rin nearly in tears reaching out towards him, breaking away from the blue-haired, sharp-toothed guard who had had her held back by her arm. She went and threw her arms around his neck and sobbed into his shoulder, her silk uniform fluttering to the ground in a heap. "I'm sorry. I tried, but I'm sorry." Kakashi awkwardly patted her back, as if unsure what to do. Tayuya looked miffed that she had been knocked out of place by the auburn-haired girl, and looked to say something, but held her tongue as the blue-haired man stepped forward. The blue-haired man sighed and scratched the back of his head.

"Ah, geez. Hey, Hatake!" he called over to the silver-haired guardsman who was patting the sobbing girl's back. The man looked up. "Hey, if you two were alone, I'd say 'go nuts', but we got somewhere to be, so… If you wouldn't mind," he trailed off, shrugging his shoulders. While saying so, he bent down to collect the uniform Rin had dropped, stuffing it under an arm. Rin pulled back from the silver-haired man and shook her head, wiping her tears with a hand. The blue-haired man grasped her arm again and began leading her away. She choked back a sob as she was being led away, but at the last moment turned back and yelled out to him.

"I'll find him! I promise I will! I'll find him!"

The rest of the group looked on with interest, and Ino and Sakura with worry.

"Suigetsu!" Kakashi yelled, his voice deep and commanding. The blue-haired man stopped and turned back with a sigh.

"What?"

Kakashi paused for a moment, studying the watery-eyed girl looking back at him, "Take care of her."

Suigetsu turned back around and flapped his hand in acknowledgement. Tayuya latched back on to Kakashi's arm while he sighed and started to lead her away. Tenten was led away in the opposite direction of Kakashi by a man in a horrible green jumpsuit unbefitting of a High Guardsman of a Great House. Not that Sakura cared especially what people wore, but she was merely surprised that a man such as Hyuuga Hiashi would allow his guards freedom of clothing. The rest of the girls were escorted to the Lift, meeting Suigetsu and a still-teary Rin there. He was offering her a drink from a water bottle, but she shook her head no. Seeing everyone else, he shrugged his shoulders.

"Figured it was time for a break."

Sakura looked up at her escort as they all waited for the Lift. He was a little taller than her, maybe in his late teens or early twenties, redheaded. A small frown turned down the corners of his lips as he watched the Lift doors with a certain degree of impatience. Sakura shifted over slightly to seat herself by Rin – Ino on the side furthest from the Orochimaru Guard – and pardoning herself to Suigetsu, who shifted away slightly to make room, shrugged and took another sip from his water bottle. Both girls sat by Rin, just offering their presence as solace for her tears. Sakura turned back to the man on her other side, taking the uniform that had been pooled between his feet. She gave another small pardon, only to be met by another shrug. Folding it neatly, she placed it atop her own.

Sakura frowned a little and leaned forward to see her blonde friend. "Ino, would you do something for me?"

"What's that?"

"Say hello to my mother and tell her that I'll be alright, if you get the chance."

Ino's face fell some, but she nodded. But before quieting, the blonde asked her if she would really be okay. Sakura nodded and put her head on Rin's shoulder.

"I'll be fine. I've got a friend. Right, Rin?"

Rin sniffled a little bit, but smiled, nodding. Everyone's 'moment' was interrupted, however as the Lift doors slid open – a gaping maw depriving them of the sun. The girls all took one last look at the sky, and Sakura and Rin cast a last look at the countryside that opened up between two buildings. The three rose from their sitting positions, Sakura handing her friend her new-folded uniform, before hustling into the Lift. She wrinkled her nose. If this was Heaven, then Night was surely Hell. Those two girls were so lucky, she thought, but remembered what Itachi had said to her:

"_Tell me how lucky we are when our children who stay up too late are plucked off the streets by the Sanitization Units. Sometimes they even make it back to their house, banging on the door, crying while mothers inside wail because they will be sanitized as well if they open the door."_

_Even so_, she thought, _Better the daylight than total darkness._ The Lift was just as it had been two days before. It was an iron birdcage that would take her to the depths of the Abyss. The tubby fellow who stood next to Ino motioned to the man running the Lift itself to take them down and the cage shuddered before descending into the Twilight. She felt a pang of homesickness as she descended, watching as her home loomed up towards her. Ino seemed to sigh in relief despite herself, glad this was as far as she was going. A small crowd had gathered around the bottom of the Lift itself to await the arrival of the new Entertainers of the Nara and Sabaku Houses. Sakura scanned the crowd as they neared, looking for any familiar faces. The Lift shuddered to a halt and the iron doors opened their maw for Ino and Kin. Sakura had to resist the urge – and saw Rin do the same – to walk out with them, back to their home.

"Sakura!" a familiar voice cried. Sakura whipped around, to see her mother pushing through the crowd.

"Mama!" she cried back, pressing up against the bars and reaching her hand through, clasping it with her mother's as her mother clutched the outer set of guard bars. This time, tears did flow, "Mama, I'm sorry."

Her mother stroked her hair roughly, tears running down her own face as she saw the Akatsuki uniform her daughter was clutching, "You're fine, it's okay, sweetie, it's okay. You did your best." A racking cough brought her free hand to her mouth. For the first time, Sakura noticed her mother's sickly pallor. But before anything more could be said, the Lift doors closed again and she could feel the motors clanking to life beneath her feet. Knowing her mother would follow her down, Sakura pried her hand from her mother's and pushed them back outside the bars as she began her descent.

"Goodbye, Mama!" she called, stepping back away from the bars, tears still running down her cheeks.

"No. No no no. No! NO!" her mother cried, fisting her hands in her hair as she dropped to her knees. "I'm alone!"

Sakura's blood ran cold.

"_I was abandoned! You abandoned me!"_

"_I'm all alone!"_

Both parent's voices rang heavy in her ears as she clutched Rin's – equally clammy – hand. She shivered as they passed below the ground again, feeling a few hot tears pass down her cheeks as she said 'Goodbye' to her home and her mother. Rin had a few tears as well, but she seemed to be mostly cried out, hiccupping every so often instead. Suigetsu, who leaned against the bars frowned as they descended.

"Ah, hell. I was sort of enjoying it up there, too."

The redheaded Akatsuki member grunted ambiguously, earning a sigh from the blue-haired man.

"Come on, Sasori," he frowned, "You can do better than that."

Sasori just frowned and chose not to answer, focusing his attention outside as the Lift finally passed from dirt on all sides to open air.

The Night Level. It was so… dark. The flickering of one thousand fires dotted the far-away ground and stretched as far as the eye could see. Sakura's eyes widened at the sight. It was enormous. She wasn't sure if she would ever be able to see the edge. She saw some people dancing and singing around one of the fires, their voices only slightly audible above the clanking of the Lift. A touch of fear situated itself in her chest. This place was so foreign that it was scary. The darkness pervaded everything. Rin and Sakura squeezed each other's hands in apprehension. This was not their world.

The girls watched the ground speed closer – along with those fires. It was only human of them to be afraid. Fear of the unknown was what had defined the human race for thousands of years – what had fueled the rich religions and myths of spirits and demons was purely fear of the unknown. Someone was afraid of the dark and invented evil spirits to justify their fears. Somebody lost a loved one and blamed it on the demons that had littered their path. It was an escape route all based upon the fear. That irrational, sometimes-fear of the darkness and what you can't quite see. And it fueled that prickle of fear so that it grew. It grew into a near full-blown terror of what they could face. Would they turn a corner to find the result of someone's impatience or malicious hobbies? Would they be taken and raped in the darkness by a man with no face and no name? Sakura didn't know. Rin didn't know. They couldn't see. And what they couldn't see was taboo.

The Lift shuddered to a halt on the ground, throwing up a layer of dust that had settled there. Few people came here. Almost no one left. Sakura shivered again as Sasori shoved her slightly out of the Lift, for she wouldn't move on her own. The ground was solid and heavy – she could almost feel its weight below her, feeling the thousands of tons of pressure it was exerting on the planet and feel the thousands of tons of pressure that are surrounding her from all sides, like one feels when they're in a cave, trapped by stone and dirt and sand on all sides with no exit. Suigetsu had led Rin out of the Lift as well, but he was heading in a different direction.

"Goodbye, Rin!" Sakura called, waving a hand above her head. Rin turned and smiled weakly, waving slightly back.

"Bye, Sakura. We'll meet again."

Sakura nodded, watching Rin and Suigetsu walk off and fade into the darkness. Sasori placed his hand between her shoulder blades, guiding her along the right path through the dark streets. Sakura clutched her Akatsuki uniform to her chest as they walked, eyes flitting to either side. People crowded in the shadows cast by the flickering, inconsistent light, their eyes shining ferally, glittering like rats coming to gather around a midnight fire. Whispers surrounded the two making their way through the streets. Sakura pinned her arms even tighter to her chest in a sub-conscious movement of defense. Murmurs and shuffling of cloth filled their ears as the people crowded around them, receding as they approached and surrounding them again behind their backs. When one of them reached forward to try and touch Sakura, Sasori slapped his hand away and growled something dangerously. The man slinked back into the shadows, hissing like a wounded animal and holding his sore hand.

_What had the darkness done to these people?_ The girl wondered, shaking in fright. She instinctively clutched to Sasori's arm, as he knew his way and how to deal with the people. More hands reached out and he spun in a circle, hitting them all and shouting something in that animalistic language again, watching them all stare out with their enlarged eyes and pale, pale faces. He wrinkled his nose.

"This is ridiculous," he mumbled to himself. Muttering a short apology, he threw the girl over one shoulder and raced down the streets faster than she had ever seen anyone run before. She shrieked for a moment and shut her eyes tight, feeling slightly sick. Wind whistled past her ears in inhuman howls – some of which, she thought with a shudder, probably weren't the wind. Once or twice, she felt cold, clammy fingers run along her arm If only for a second, but it was enough to bring frightened tears to her shut eyes. Sasori finally set her down in front of a large building, sighing. Sakura sat on the steps leading up to the entrance, shaking and clutching the Akatsuki robes like her lift depended on it.

"W-w-what was that?" she stuttered, eyes wide and frightened. Sasori considered the girl sitting before him for a moment before answering.

"The percentage of the populace that is rejected by even Night Level standards. They seem to enjoy playing a fatuous game of let's-eat-the-newcomers. They all have something 'wrong' with them by society's standards. Big eyes, big ears, scaly skin, a third arm, etc, etc. Sometimes they get agitated, but I have never seen them like that before. That aside, that is where Twilight and Day send their strange ones. Most don't listen to anyone, but there are the occasional ones who will listen to sense. Propriety and decorum have no meaning in their circles. We call them the Outcasts, as that is what they are."

Sakura paled. "Then what about Rin and Suigetsu? Will they be alright?"

Sasori stared down at her again for a moment before simply stating, "You underestimate Suigetsu."

The girl nodded numbly as he offered a hand to help her up. "I apologize for the bad first impression, but I assure you, the majority of us are normal," he said with a small, ghost of a smile.

"A-alright," Sakura managed to squeak after a long moment. Helping her get to her feet, she gazed up at the building looming above her. The fires cast a flickering light that only reached part way up the stone façade of the stone monolith before succumbing to darkness. However, the Akatsuki building was carved into the stone wall of Night itself, in the form of what immediately struck her as a temple. (3) It couldn't have been made for the Akatsuki originally, she mused, otherwise they had had someone with very classic taste. The stone looked almost pink in the firelight, but it could have just been the flame's orange glow changing the colour. She was pulled out of her reverie by an inhuman shriek that could only have come from one of the Outcasts. She cast a fearful look behind her and Sasori hurried her forward through the guard-flanked door. He led her inside and into a large, dark chamber where the Akatsuki Leader sat boredly. Sakura frowned for a moment, eyebrows raising. How had he gotten back faster than her and Sasori? No one knew his name – the Akatsuki Leader, that is. It was something that was kept a well-guarded secret. Sakura was unsure why, but far be it for her to question Akatsuki.

Leader raised his head slightly at the pair's entrance, eyes narrowing. Sasori moved up closer to the Leader's chair, pushing the girl between the shoulder blades again. When they reached a certain spot on the floor, he released the pressure and she stopped, still trembling slightly. He inclined his head to the man sitting before him, who, upon Sakura's closer inspection didn't seem to really be _there_ at all, to her further confusion. So engulfed in her inspection was she that Sasori had to nudge her to bow her head as well. The man flapped his hand boredly for them to stop, a sigh audible from the chair.

"Leader, sir, I've brought the entertainer from Builder's Hall, as instructed." Sasori spoke, eyes serious. Leader nodded and scrutinized the girl. She was still shaking slightly, her hair rumpled from the speed.

"I take it you ran into the Outcasts?" he drawled, not really caring whether they had or not. Sasori could take care of himself and the girl had her fans. The redhead nodded the affirmative. Leader nodded his head, face still imperceptible by darkness, but eyes showing up starkly against the black. It should have looked like those Outcasts' eyes but these didn't. They didn't look hungry like the eyes of the Outcasts, these just looked somewhat curious.

Turning his attention to Sakura, he spoke again, "I assume that you are Haruno Sakura?"

Sakura inclined her head and lowered her eyes to the floor in the gesture of respect that one was obliged to give to any member of a Great House, "That is correct, sir."

"Then is it also safe to assume that you are daughter of Lady Haruno, formerly of the House of Sabaku?"

Sakura smiled, "That is also correct, sir."

"You look just like she did," he said, nostalgia lacing his voice, "She was a beautiful woman with equally as beautiful a personality. I fancy I was a trifle in love with her all those years ago." Shaking his head, he continued, "How is she faring?"

"She is faring quite well, thank you, sir. However, she seemed somewhat distraught that her daughter was taken from her," her voice had taken on a formal note that it normally dropped, saved only for people of great importance.

"That's too bad," he said softly before turning his head and calling harshly for a name, "Deidara!" he yelled at a figure at the very end of one of the adjoining hallways. A young man jumped slightly and started walking briskly over in Leader's direction. He bore long, blonde hair that was tied in a ponytail high on his head. One long bang obscured his left eye, but every so often as he was moving, Sakura caught a flash of steely silver. Said man came to a halt before Leader and raised his hand in a salute.

"Yes, sir?" he asked.

Leader motioned to Sakura with what seemed to her to be a semi-transparent hand (but she could have imagined it), "Please escort Lady Haruno to the guest quarters, Deidara."

The blonde nodded and motioned for the girl to follow him. Sakura curtsied to Leader and gave a shallower curtsy and a smile to Sasori before following Deidara out of the room. The blonde man sighed and rounded the corner, scratching the back of his head absently. Sakura glanced down at the stone tiles below her feet after almost losing her balance. The stone was dipped and worn with thousands of feet that had paced these halls through its long existence. However, more than the stone, Deidara's feet caught her gaze. His sandals were old, perhaps a little too small for him, and worn around the edges – frayed. Why he was wearing sandals in a place like this, Sakura supposed she would never know, and didn't bother to ask about.

The duration of their walk was spent in silence, broken only by the sound of their footfalls on stone, the crackling of the torches which lined the halls, and the occasional _drip-drip_ of water from somewhere ahead. Every so often, a servant dressed in black and red would be seen in the hallways, replacing an old torch with a fresh one. Sakura was acutely aware of the weight of the air around her. She had felt the presence of the earth around her when she was out in the Level itself, but now, in a hallway almost completely surrounded by stone and earth and weight, the presence itself was almost unbearable, it was almost corporeal. She could feel the pressure around her and absently wondered how the Akatsuki – or whoever built this – managed to carve out these hallways in the earth. All the same, Sakura was awed. Not only by the idea of it all being carved by hand, but by the aura the halls seemed to exude, separate of the constant feeling of the earth on all sides. It was an ancientness, a musty, old, stale feeling of places that have seen death and horrors of which it would not speak. The pink-haired girl knew that if this building could speak, it would have a few deliciously frightening stories to tell. It reminded her of how she and Ino and some of the other girls would stay up at night for a sleepover and sit in a circle, holding hands and telling scary stories to each other. She remembered vividly Ino's face cast into relief by the lamplight she held under her chin, telling of old Vickie Anderson's father – how he crashed through the door, face gaunt and pale, a coagulated mess of blood on the side of his head where he had been bashed by his own daughter's meat hammer, eyes livid. They'd all shuddered in delightful fright as she went into excruciating detail. What's more, the firelight cast weird shadows across the walls, creating long, wavering images of things she knew weren't there. Ghosts, poltergeists, vampires, each seemed to loom down dark, adjoining hallways, although she knew it was just her imagination. Ghosts, poltergeists, vampires; all had stories back home. Like how Vickie Anderson way on the other side of Twilight had seen her dead daddy three days after they laid him to rest because she'd murdered him with a meat tenderizer. Or how Bobby Creig had been found dead in his bed with two puncture wounds on his neck. Sakura shuddered again, as that childish, dreamlike fear pervaded her thoughts again.

Deidara kept pulling her through the hallways, tearing past doors and the bewildered-looking servants carrying trays or baskets of linen. They all wore the same black and red, a tiny red cloud embroidered on the breast. They were all ogling the new girl with some curiosity, wondering what made her different from the hundreds of other candidates. What set her apart from the others? Sakura wondered as well. Finally, the two came to a stop before a heavy wood door, it's grain old and cracked. Sakura tilted her head curiously.

"Is this where I shall be staying?" she asked. Deidara nodded his head.

"It is. Mm. Well, actually," he trailed off for a second or two, searching for words, "This is more like a temporary residence sort of thing until our senior Entertainer has her farewell ceremony. Mm."

Sakura nodded and placed a hand on the door before entering, thanking her escort sweetly and turning away. Pushing the heavy door open, the pink-haired girl caught her breath and smiled slightly. It was a large room, even if it was branded with the name 'temporary residence'. In fact, she fancied it was bigger than the whole one-room apartment back home. She had to grimace at the nostalgia this gave her, though. The stone floor was covered by a green carpet that was splayed across the rock in the center of the room. A small bed sat in the corner, dwarfed by the size of the room around it. It wasn't quite as luxurious as the one in the quarters back at Day, but no doubt just as comfortable. She smiled when she noted her mother's bag sitting squarely on the center of the sheets. A table and a single chair was slightly off to the side, wood polished and shining. It was a dimly lit room, lit by the dancing fire in the lamp on the wall. This was doubtless a Level ruled by fire. Fire was everywhere. Fire was life. Without the fire they would all die.

Closing the door behind her, she set the uniform on the table to the side. She just stood by the table, hand still lingering on her uniform, gazing at the room around her. That same sparse, dungeon-like appearance was apparently not limited to the hallways. Changing quickly, she slipped under the woven sheets and had to smile sadly. She may not be home, but she had to make this her home now.

The Akatsuki.

* * *

(1) Well, the reason for 'Ama' is explained on Wikipedia! As some translators used that for a surname (and I need a surname) I'll use it. 

(2) There are a few people I know who sneeze when they go from dark to light, including myself and my father. Personally, I just don't see how you can't. :s

(3) Think Petra… but huuuuge. Like… Petra, but AMAZINGLY GIGANTIC. Petra, but ENORMOUS BEYOND ALL ENORMITY (okay… I made that bit up). But it's big. That's what I'm thinking. :3

SEVENTEEN PAGES LATER!!! Aaaaand thankies to everyone who reviewed!... .while I reply at a hyper 2:19 in the morning.

**xxanimosityxx: **Thanks! It's fine, stretch your point as long as you like! wide grin

**Lioness Of the fire**: You'll just have to see, won't you. :3 wink And thanks for the compliment, I appreciate it.

**2supersmart:** Well, thank you for the compliment. The plot kinda came to me while my sister was playing her Narnia soundtrack. I like being original, although certain ideas were drawn and based off of many other media sources. If you look, you'll find everything from Star Wars to Dr. Strangelove. And I'm amazed, 'cause this was so hard to name! I'm amazed that it apparently turned out well! (I thought the title was kinda weak) WOOHOO For writing a decent summary! Yus! And yes, there are going to be pairings in this story (I've already made one glaringly obvious coughNaruHinacough). It is under SasuSaku for a reason, as that is what it will be... eventually! Don't kill me for not updating! dodges thrown paraphernalia

**lalala:** Well thank you! I hate cliffhangers, but I love writing them, so I'm glad I have you sitting on the edge!

**darkbastet596: **Eheheheheh. Rewards... very true. However, unfortunately, rewards aren't a panacea and won't cure writer's block... sigh Ahh well. MAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! My writing makes you question your sanity! MAHAHAHAcoughsplutter I hear you. I've been strict SasuSaku for as long as I've seen the series, too. ItaSaku... well... let's just say... no. I'm just trying to convey how Itachi was before the whole Uchiha Massacre emololz0rz thing. I mean, he seemed sweet, if a bit standoffish. Then it was just like LAJFLSDJFLKSDFkillmassacreliveinanunsightlywaySJLKSDJ explosion. I'm keeping the whole 'sibling rivalry' thing, 'cause real siblings hate each other to a certain degree, eh? (God, that's such a Canadianism. Eh? Eh?) At least me and my sister do. Eheheh. He was just trying to be accommodating. But now we're seeing something a little darker flicker below the surface (or at least, I hope so). However, even though this story is going to be centered around Sakura (and eventually Sasuke), Itachi is still a pivotal character in the whole grand scheme. Well, I hope this chapter won't get me killed!

**SandKunoichi: **Well, here is your 'more'! I just have to write the next chapter now. Eheheheheheh.

**MangaGirl427:** Thanks for the compliment! And funny that you reviewed when I was intending to post it. X3 Pssht. I'd better just keep writing -- keep you all from eating me.

See you next time!

Sniper Hawkeye


	7. Induction

A/N: This chapter brought to you by the wonders of my insane dreams, _Death is the Road to Awe_ (_The Fountain_ OST), various songs from _The Da Vinci Code_ OST (never actually read the book or seen the movie) and of course, characters from Naruto, graciously allowed to be used in fanfiction by the amazing Masashi Kishimoto. We all love you.

And I'm really sorry the plot seems to be progressing so slowly nowadays, (trust me, it's slow to write, too, because nothing's really happening) but the whole this is essential to the story itself. Look at this as... essential background. The rest of the story won't make sense without these bits.

**If there are any mistakes, don't hesitate to say so in a review so I can fix it!**

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**6 - Induction  
**

"We are gathered here, the Akatsuki Organization, to pay our respects to our very own Lady Yuuhi Kurenai. An amazing woman who, I am sorry to say, will be leaving us for her family in the Twilight Level upon this day," Leader stood solemnly, still seemingly engulfed in shadow. It seemed to Sakura that he enjoyed keeping himself mysterious. Yet, he still looked like he was partially see-through, which made her mind gnash it's proverbial teeth in frustration. _Why?_

The entirety of Akatsuki – including the servants and minor members – was gathered in that great hall of stone and granite. To Leader's right stood seven full members of Akatsuki – their seniors – wearing full regalia. A woman with the black hair and red eyes that she had only associated with Itachi before stood to the left of Leader, with Sakura standing just to her left and slightly behind. Lined up a few feet from Sakura were the other ten Akatsuki entertainers, their red-cloud dresses shimmering under the torchlight. "For eleven years, she has been faithful, courageous and often the mastermind behind many of Akatsuki's recent progressions. However, after so much time, we must commend her for her service and bid her farewell."

He turned to Kurenai, holding out an Akatsuki cloak of the finest silk to her, she bowed her head and took it wordlessly.

"Lady Kurenai, if you will?"

She nodded, a thin smile on her face and stepped one or two steps forward. Looking over the crowd with an expression of dignity and grace, she spoke to the mass of humanity standing before her like only a Lady of a Great House could.

"Friends, colleagues. Today, not without some trepidation, I am fated to leave you and this House under which I have served for the past eleven years. Eleven years which I am sure I will never forget. Throughout my years here, people whom I shall remember forever have surrounded me; people who must possess the very heart and soul of the Builders themselves. Those saints who have given us this glorious City and housed us – their people and descendants. Don't think I'll ever forget any of you, I just ask that you will not forget me."

She smiled that thin, terse smile at the crowd for a moment while they applauded. Personally, Sakura found this kind of decorum rather dull and uninteresting, however, she was expected to play a part, and she would play that part well.

"However," Lady Kurenai continued, pleading silence from the crowd with a raise of her hand, "I leave in my wake a new light to shine through the darkness of the night – a new light that will strive to bring the people of Night into the sun once more! Lady Haruno Sakura, a girl who promises to have just as much talent as this House expects.. The daughter of Lady Haruno formerly of the House of Sabaku. Excellence truly does transcend generations."

Sakura felt herself flush red at the compliment, but suddenly also felt a pang of disappointment. She was in her mother's shadow and had only just realized it. In a sudden revelation, she realized that if she never outdid her mother, she would always be referred to as "Lady Haruno's daughter", not Lady Haruno of Akatsuki. However, she banished these thoughts and smiled gratefully, bowing her head in respect to the people before her. Raising her hand in a little wave, she uttered a high-pitched "Hi." People in the crowd smiled or chuckled lightly. She smiled sheepishly, stepping back as Leader said his closing comments and people hunkered down for food, which arrived in a spectacular flurry of silver platters and finery. They were all ushered to a long table – entertainers on one side and Akatsuki seniors on the other, with Leader at the head of the table, Lady Kurenai at the opposite end.

The food was better than Sakura had had in a very long time, and she wondered if it would always be this good – although something told her no. However, she had to restrain herself from devouring it on site, as that would be inappropriate and give a brash first impression. She glanced around her quickly, fingering the collar of her formal Akatsuki uniform she'd been given. It was a black silk dress piped in red along the hems. Embroidered red clouds popped against the black at irregular intervals. Around her waist was a red and black patterned scarf of the same fine silk. The other girls were demurely picking at their food, lifting forks to their mouths daintily and laughing behind their hands when one of the Akatsuki seniors made an amusing comment. They all looked so kind and accommodating.

Sakura yawned behind her hand, and daintily picked at her food, trying to emulate the girls. She wasn't concentrating on conversation around her, though, instead wondering yet again why she had bothered to get up. However, she nodded and smiled every so often to the Akatsuki members around her, trying to act like the pretty, graceful entertainer she was supposed to be. Every so often, she would flick her eyes over to two very unique – to put it politely – seniors who were obviously former Outcasts. Two very plant-like 'jaws', for lack of better term, surrounded one man on either side of his head. The other was, suffice to say, blue. He was blue and bore three 'gills' beneath each eye. When he opened his mouth to laugh raucously, Sakura spotted sharp, fang-like teeth much like Suigetsu's had been. The maority of the other Akatsuki members seemed normal enough, although the blue-haired woman and Leader both bore that shimmering, only half-there feel, and neither had a plate of food before them.

The feast was half-over without a snag, and the time for exhibition began. Namely, it was some after-dinner entertainment that was to be provided by Sakura. The crowd pulled back to make a large space before the dais where Lady Kurenai and Leader sat, staring down at her. She could feel their gaze under her skin and the gaze of the crowd around her. Butterflies built up in her stomach again, but she forced herself to take a deep breath, palming the tessen which had been tucked into the scarf at her waist until then. She performed before this audience mostly the same dance that she had performed for the Table of judges, but variations in the step every so often for Leader's sake, as he had already seen her performance. She was met by roaring rounds of applause afterwards, which nearly brought a wide smile to her face before she suppressed it in favour of a smaller, more demure smile, her eyelashes lowered as she curtsied her exit back to Lady Kurenai's side.

The rest of the ceremony was rather dull, as evidenced by even Kurenai's covered yawns. At long, long last, there was the ceremonial 'passing-of-the-torch' so to speak – which was literally just that – conducted on the steps of the Akatsuki building. A man removed Lady Kurenai's torch from a line of eleven dispersed on either side of the door, with the eleventh – the senior Entertainer's (or in this case, Kurenai's) – being a torch lit above the door itself – only reachable by a set of stairs behind the wall. Each entertainer moved theirs up one respective place, with the woman to be next in line for senior Entertainer was shown to the stairs and seen placing it in its appropriate bracket. As the torch ceremony had begun, Sakura had been given a torch of her own, tipped in a sticky golden substance she had never seen before. When Lady Kurenai came and lit Sakura's torch with her own, she would have dropped it in surprise had Lady Kurenai not warned under her breath, "Get ready."

A communal gasp of utter awe filled the room as light exploded from the end of her torch, the kind that no fire can make – white and pure and blinding. Within seconds, however, the light dimmed down, replaced by the common flames of Night Level's lifeline – the orange and red and yellow and blue of the fire. She was glad the ceremony involved Lady Kurenai's assistance in placing her torch in it's respective bracket, as she was shaking so hard she doubted she could have done it herself. She was brought to her new place at the end of the line of entertainers and Leader called out across the crowd.

"And thus, though the old fires must eventually die, they leave in their wake a new light to shine upon the people of Night and to forge the path for them into the Day!"

Monstrous cheers and applause echoed around from the hundreds and hundreds of people who had come to see the ceremony itself as they looked up at the apex of the building – it's highest point – where a man stood before a barrel of fire and tipped a jar of the golden substance into it's flames. The fire died for a moment , just as it had from Sakura's torch, the blinding white light, purer than the sun lit up the Night Level like a beacon. It reached to the top of the cavernous level and for miles around, everything was cast into relief as its white light made the little children scream in delight and dance around in circles with makeshift sparklers they had put together the day before. People in the crowd all burst into song and dance, enjoying the event as if it were a pagan festival to an ancient god. And it wasn't just the common people that danced and sang, even the senior Akatsuki members embraced the festivities. Sakura found herself pulled into several dances by senior members as well as several little boys who cheekily bowed like proper gentlemen, to which she smiled behind her hand and curtsied in return. Instruments were played and drums were tamped, tambourines shaken, voices raised.

However, as the light faded back into the crackling orange light of fire and the noise of the festivities died with the light, people's attention was caught by another oddity. A deep, humming chant of a thousand voices at once echoed around the level. As the noise died, more people started turning, turning, until the whole crowd was one giant wave turning in the opposite direction. What attracted their attention was a swirling, luminescent, misty, blue-white glow swirling around what Sakura could only assume was Orochimaru's building. It sent a chill down the spines of those that heard it. Over near the swirling mist a thousand torches swayed in rhythm to the tempo of the chant. The baritone chant slowly crescendoed until it rumbled around the Level, reverberating off all the walls and the ceiling, until the rumbling could be felt in their chests. The mist swirled faster and faster near the building, wrapping around a snake-like spire as the chant crescendoed and sped up. Some of the small children who had been singing and dancing earlier clung to their mothers and wept. All at once, the voices lingered on an impossibly high note that melted into screams and the blue mist swirled into a small tornado on the tip of the snake-spire before shooting up in a beam of light towards the roof of the Level itself.

All who heard were shaken and many merely hurried home rather than lingering to chat to friends and neighbors as they did every other year. Sakura frowned and only thought of Rin before being ushered inside by a very worried-looking Lady Kurenai.

Something like that hadn't been seen in a very long time.

Lady Kurenai stalked down the hallways, Sakura and the other entertainers in tow. They were mostly silent, Kurenai's silk coat flapping slightly behind her the only noise to be heard. The red clouds of the cloak and the dresses hovered in a seeming nothingness sometimes when the girls passed into shadow, the black silk slipping into liquid darkness. The pink-haired girl followed behind the group as she had been bidden do, clutching her bag again and feeling the press of her silver necklace against her chest.

She was immediately passed off to the youngest entertainer next to herself, whom collected her bags from outside the smallest of rooms in order to move into the next room up. Sakura was sure the girl would have said something about moving up ordinarily – she had that look on her face – but what had been witnessed outside seemed to have quieted the girl, casting a pallor on her face that couldn't be because of the darkness. She shooed Sakura inside her room and made sure to warn her to remember where it was before she herself left for her new room. It was a grand room, moreso than the temporary room she had had the night before, but she was too confused to really look around her. She simply sat down on her bed, her bag at her feet and fingered her necklace absently, staring into space before her.

_Things certainly are different here on the Night level_, she thought., with only a little sarcasm. Things were so radically different that she didn't know what to do. She had so many questions and no one to ask. She had no idea what she was supposed to do the next day, either. There was no manual they gave you for being an Entertainer, although she would have laughed and ignored it if they had. The siver tendrils of the necklace slid smoothly beneath her fingers as she twirled it absently.

The other women all seemed so sure of themselves, so comfortable. Sakura wondered if the new girl was always awkward and wary as she felt she was going to be. If she could see the future, she most definitely would have said that she was going to screw up sometime soon. However, she wasn't a Reader, and she most certainly wouldn't want to do some of the things they could do. She had seen one once and they could be downright _scary_. He had been an Uchiha Reader on visit to Twilight as an emissary to their allies, the Naras. Ino's family, having been affiliated with the Naras where Sakura's mother was affiliated with Sabaku had taken her to the parade as a treat. Of course, Ino had pushed their way to the front in order to see the Uchiha boys, as their father had found it prudent that they see the Twilight as well, and of course, Sakura had looked too, but what had scared her was the Reader, who had been walking beside the then young Itachi – the boy had looked to be only a few years Itachi's senior, but was laughing and joking as if they were brothers. Until something caught his attention, that was. His face had immediately fallen and his head had whipped in her direction. Dark, Uchiha eyes flicked over her face, his lips parting in what looked vaguely to be an expression of fear or concern – but not for her.

"Shisui?" she had been sure she'd heard Itachi ask that name, looking over to where she stood and raising his eyebrows. The 'Shisui' boy had torn his eyes away and shaken his head, but had scooted away from Itachi slightly, a flicker something akin to fear on his face – but only a flicker. She didn't know why it had concerned her so much – after all, she should have been fainting at the attention she had merited from an Uchiha. It had unsettled her, but of course, as usual with anything of that ilk, Sakura had waved it off as looking somewhere in her general direction and had continued to watch the parade.

She sad idly, twirling the necklace. No, she wasn't a Reader. She couldn't say for sure that she would screw up, but there was just something niggling at the back of her brain saying that something bad was going to happen, and that it involved her. Sighing, she rifled through her bag and removed her sleeping clothes, changing before settling down again to sleep. She leaned over to the table beside her bed, where a candle flickered next to where she had laid her tessen. With a short puff of air, the candle went out and she was engulfed in pitch-blackness. Her dreams that night were haunted by red-eyed men and the shrieks of children.

"Up! Uuuup!" a woman bellowed into Sakura's room. The pink-haired girl groaned and rolled over, bringing the sheets of her bed up over her face. She didn't want to wake up. After all, the room was still as pitch-black as it had been the night before, save for the flicker of the woman's lamp. It couldn't possibly be morning. She heard the woman give a harrumph of dissatisfaction before loud footsteps were heard barreling her way. There was a momentary pause as the woman lit the torches in the room before ripping the sheets unceremoniously off Sakura's bed. The girl yelped slightly as the cold air hit her skin, curling up into a little ball.

"Up!" the woman repeated, prodding her roughly in the side. Sakura groaned again, but sat up blearily. She gazed around the room as the woman frowned, but stood patiently. Sakura vaguely registered her as the new senior Entertainer. Her oddly purple hair – which made her think of her own odd pink hair – was gathered up messily at the back of her head. Rather than an Akatsuki uniform, she wore a tan (or what she guessed was tan in the firelight) coat over a fishnet shirt, a simple skirt over her thighs. She hardly looked the part of Akatsuki's senior Entertainer, but she no doubt knew her stuff.

"Is it still night out?" she asked stupidly, not realizing what she was saying. The woman sighed and shook her head.

"It's always night here, hon. Something you're gonna 'aveta get used to."

She had an accent she had heard at the celebration the night before – a slight stress on vowels and complete disregard for some consonants, especially 'H's – something she supposed was native to Night Level. But with her comment, only then did Sakura really wake up, eyes widening and a blush of embarrassment – invisible in the dark.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly, not even sure her senior had heard her. The woman waved her hand in dismissal.

"Don' be. You lived your life somewhere else, where you see the Sun every mornin'. I don' blame you. But keep in mind, there is no real mornin', evenin', or afternoon 'ere. Only night. Now up! Get dressed in your uniform and meet me outside. You'll find clean ones in one of the drawers over there." She waved her hand ambiguously over at what appeared to be a dresser by the door.

The woman was turning to leave before Sakura spoke.

"Thank you, Ms…" she trailed off, giving the woman a questioning look. The woman looked back over her shoulder with a grin.

"Anko. Mitarashi Anko."

Sakura emerged from her room with her hair still ruffled and stifling yawns with a hand, her tessen hanging from her free hand limply. Anko was leaned against the wall, her lamp set on the floor. She had her chin resting on her chest, eyes closed sleepily. Sakura, not feeling entirely comfortable around her senior merely cleared her throat in an attempt to get her attention. Anko looked up and took in a breath through her nose. Rubbing her eyes, she nodded and beckoned the younger girl to follow her.

"I s'pose what with all th' 'ustle an' bustle thatcha never really got a tour o' the place. Thass what this is for. That and you get t' start your trainin' after," she said matter-of-factly. Sakura frowned a bit and furrowed her eyebrows.

"Training? This is the first I've heard of that."

Anko stopped dead in her tracks, looking at the other girl with an eye of incredulity.

"You didn' expect t' be called one o' Akatsuki's elite guards withou' proper training, didja?"

Sakura grimaced slightly for her lack of foresight. Her mother had spoken of that task to her before, and taught her with the tessen accordingly, but she had nearly completely forgotten that particular facet of her newly-acquired occupation. She nodded, saying:

"Training it is, then."

The halls, were lighter now than they had been when she had been escorted to her room the day – night? What did she call it now? – before. This was probably due to the higher amount of torches that lined the halls. She assumed that they tried to create an illusion of night and day by shining more or less light in the hallways.

"Where do you get all the wood for the torches?" The question had been nagging for a while. Anko looked over at her, but did not answer. Sakura frowned but understood the 'I'm not allowed to say' look. She pursed her lips and directed her gaze forward again, mind scratching for an answer she was denied. Eventually, the long hallway opened up into an enormous, dark hall dotted by stone pillars. It was so tall that the light from torches hung from brackets on the pillars and candles lit in tall, iron candle stands faded into blackness. Servants scuttled to and fro under the firelight, some bearing large loads of laundry to be done, others trailing behind the odd higher-ranking Akatsuki members. Anko turned to Sakura and stretched out her arm to indicate the hall.

"This, m'dear is th' Hall o' the Dawn."  
"Hall of the Dawn?"

Anko smiled and nodded, "Hall o' the Dawn, girlie! Didja not read yer hist'ry books when you were jus' a brat? You 'ave those up on Twilight, right? Hist'ry books?"  
Sakura flushed, "Of course! I was best in my class!"

"Then you know what Akatsuki is!"

The pink-haired girl frowned, "I heard it was a rebel House, more organization than family, that has only been officially recognized by the House of Lords in the last four hundred years. It was what the book classified as a 'barbaric' house in that the title of Lord of the House is not hereditary, but rather passed down through appointment to the strongest member of the organization-house itself. Am I right?"

Anko had wrinkled her nose at the mention of the other Houses' view of them as 'barbaric', but nodded. "True, that's what it _is_, but do you know what we _want_?"

Sakura shook her head, "The books are merely speaking of that which we knew. To my knowledge, you – we – Akatsuki keep to your – well, ourselves, rather."

"Then prepare t' be ed-yoo-kated, girlie," Anko looked proud to be able to tutor a girl on a subject which she seemed to be versed on. Sakura had to try hard not to giggle at the older woman's pronunciation of 'educated', but understood that she was trying hard to show Sakura – a girl almost eleven years her junior – that even though she was raised in the Night Level, she was able to verse a better learned girl in the ways and methods of the Akatsuki. "Well, you know how as a sorta 'ultimate punishment' people get sent down a Level, an' once yer on a Level, ye can't move up unless ye git Chosen fer Entertainer by a Level higher than yer own, right?"

Sakura nodded.

"An' because o' that, th' Levels are listed in descendin' order, right? Day, Twilight, Night. Right?"  
She nodded again.

"Well, Akatsuki means _dawn_ in some ancient language from before th' City was built. What we want to do is make it possible fer people on lower Levels t' be able t' move up, if ye know what I mean. Instead o' descendin' from Day to Night, we wanna make it ascendin'. Night, _Dawn_, Day. That way, it don't seem like impendin' doom if ye know what I mean. Make sense?"

Sakura nodded, but her lips pressed together a little tighter. Was Anko making Akatstuki out to be liberators? Saints of the Night Level? Messiahs bringing the Dawn? It all sounded very good, without a doubt.

"So, this is the Hall o' the Dawn. 'Cause this was where th' Akatsuki was officially recognized by th' 'ouse o' Lords. So, this is where th' Dawn will begin."

Anko looked ecstatic, as if she had converted Sakura to some up-and-coming religion with the flick of a finger. Carvings decorated the walls up past the dark in intricate frescoes that seemed to chronicle _something_ as they spiraled up the walls. Given a nod from Anko, Sakura ran her fingers along the face of a man. Without turning back she asked yet another question. She supposed she was getting tiresome with all the inquiry, but nevertheless.

"What does it mean? Or does it mean anything at all?"

The stone was smooth despite its age – it had been respected by wherever former and current tenants had occupied the building. Her eyes followed the spiral up as it seemed to tell a story.

"We got a lot o' the bottom, but we're still workin' our way up. Lady Kurenai was tryin' to figure it out on her free time. If yer a hist'ry girl, that might be a ven-yoo fer ya. 'Parently, the bottom here talks 'bout some prosp'rous civilization way back b'fore the Builders made this pit," she said, spitting the word 'pit' as if it were the capital 'P' 'Pit'. _The_ Pit. "An' all we can make out way up there is what we think is the City bein' built. An' if it's th' City up there, then it means that this's prolly 'bout why the City was built. We don' know the details, but that's what we're thinkin'. But anyways, let's keep goin', shall we?"

Sakura nodded and patted the man's face before going off behind Anko. She passed under a set of scaffolding that was slowly being taken down. Anko pointed it out that that was where Lady Kurenai had done her research. The younger girl's mouth made an 'o' sign and asked the her senior to wait a moment while she called up to the workers, asking them not to take it down. They raised their hands and conceded to the will of the House Entertainer, going down a ramp of scaffold that dropped with the spiral of fresco. When Anko sent her an odd look, Sakura mentioned that she was fascinated and would take up where Lady Kurenai had left off. More hallways opened up to her left and right, Anko pointing out that there were signs as to the direction of the main rooms hidden in the carvings. One only needed to know where to look.

The Library was grand, indeed, but a thick coat of dust rested on a few tables, leaving only one or two clean. A small smattering of people (three or four, maybe) wandered between shelves. The blue-haired Akatsuki woman Sakura had seen the night before sat reading a book vacantly, eyes scanning the page in a nonchalant manner. However, there were tall shelves of books raising up several levels, a staircase winding around in the same spiral-pattern as the frescoes in the Hall of the Dawn. The dining room was sparsely furnished – a long stone table and intricately carved stone chairs were all that graced the floor.

Apparently, they were to go to training next. She thought she spotted Shark-Man from the day before in a room off to the side, but Anko rushed it past her. They brushed past other hallways quickly and without pausing to explain where they led. Some of them had a notably _darker_ feel. As if the dark itself were a tangible force poking at the edges of her brain. At one point, she had hesitated near one, peering down, but Anko had frowned, gripped her arm and pulled her away, their footfalls in the empty stone corridor muffling other noise.

But not before she thought she'd heard a scream.

* * *

A/N: Yes, I gave Anko an accent. She is supposed to be a character born and bred in Night, so I wanted to show the difference between the more middle-and-upper-class Twilight and Day and the lower-class-bordering-on-slummy Night level. No offense to anyone who DOES have an accent close to that, I just wanted to show a difference in culture (I had an accent like that myself once upon a time, so... meh). 

I hope this chapter finds you all well!

Sniper Hawkeye


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